A New Outlook
by sashton
Summary: Working with Cerberus presented many issues for Shepard. What would happen if there was a third party involved that defeated both Liara and the Shadow Broker? ME2 onwards. AU. FShep/Garrus. Rated M for content. Bioware/EA own all characters/locations/plots/whatever that they have the rights to. In theory, updates fortnightly.
1. Communications

**ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION #2183-182-14-43-13-012942**

**FROM:** ShadowBroker

**TO: **SBagent7911

**SUBJECT: **Mission Update

**MESSAGE:** Another party has entered the race. Take any necessary action to prevent acquisition. Failure is not an option. SB.

* * *

**ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION #2183-182-15-01-98-098231**

**FROM:** MirandaLawson

**TO: **LiaraTSoni

**CC:** IllusiveMan

**SUBJECT: **HIGH PRIORITY: Additional Intelligence

**MESSAGE:** Please be advised that our intelligence network has uncovered evidence suggesting an additional organisation has taken an interest in retrieving ComS. Unfortunately, no further information is available at this time. Please take all precautions that you feel are required. Good luck. Miranda Lawson.

* * *

**ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION #2183-185-17-09-36-145302**

**FROM: **SBagent7911

**TO:** ShadowBroker

**SUBJECT:** Mission Update

**MESSAGE:** Package was taken by unknown party. Lost contact at Mass Relay. Unknowns were travelling in a ship of Turian design. No insigna. Mission Failure. Forgive me.

* * *

**ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION #2183-185-17-11-73-052839**

**FROM:** ShadowBroker

**TO: **SBagent8213

**SUBJECT: **New Mission

**MESSAGE:** Retire agent 7911. You now have responsibility for his sector. SB.

* * *

**ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION #2183-185-17-91-04-856384**

**FROM:** LiaraTSoni

**TO: **MirandaLawson

**SUBJECT: **Status Report

**MESSAGE:** ComS was taken by agents working for an unknown organisation. Shadow Broker forces were decimated by opponents, indicating advanced military training. Ship containing ComS and enemy operatives were tracked to the Omega-2 relay. Ship appeared Turian in design, but had no recognisable features. Their approach vector indicated a multiple-relay journey. I will return your advance payment shortly. If you uncover anything more, please let me know – I would never want to see ComS being used against the galactic community. Liara T'Soni.

* * *

**ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION #2183-185-17-91-09-332096**

**FROM:** MarcusQuinctilius

**TO: **TiberiaGalerius

**SUBJECT: **Update

**MESSAGE:** I have recovered the item and am en route after taking all recommended anti-tracking precautions. Item is stable but damage is severe. Recommend preparing ops suite for arrival. ETA on Nanus at 2183-186-00-00 GST. Lt. Quinctilius.


	2. Logs

**VINDEX LOGS: COMMANDER TIBERIA GALERIUS – OPERATIONS CHIEF: PROJECT ANASTASIS**

* * *

**DATE: **2183-186

**LOG ENTRY:** Patient arrived early this morning under the care of Lieutenant Quinctilius. We immediately transferred her to a more stable stasis pod, which will be her home until the completion of the project. Damage is more severe than we had believed – initial scans reveal almost complete destruction of the epidermal layer, 80% destruction of dermal structures and 60% destruction of muscle tissue – considerable damage to internal organs seems likely, but we have to wait until we get detailed results before we can make any informed judgement.

* * *

**DATE:** 2183-193

**LOG ENTRY: **First of the detailed scans completed earlier today – no permanent damage to the brain structure! The small amount of damage to outer layers of brain tissue caused by environmental exposure and sudden deceleration was greater than expected, but is nothing too challenging to repair, especially given our medical technology! No brain functions are expected to be affected.

* * *

**DATE:** 2183-209

**LOG ENTRY:** Last of the scan results came through today – the news was not good. Due to impact angle, damage from skeletal disintegration resulted in large-scale cellular death of all organs below the patient's diaphragm. Unfortunately, the damage was caused before the patient's temperature dropped enough to preserve basic functionality. Initial scans gave us indications that this may have been the case, but our medical director remained optimistic, especially given the brain scan results. The damage to the chest cavity was extensive, but not unrecoverable. I've authorised the staff to begin preliminary surgical procedures in the next few days.

* * *

**DATE:** 2183-241

**LOG ENTRY:** Having confirmed that regeneration of the patient's lower organs is impossible – even given our budget and equipment – I gave the surgical team permission to remove the deceased flesh before any decay spreads to recoverable organ systems.

* * *

**DATE:** 2183-252

**LOG ENTRY:** After extensive exploratory surgery, Medical Team 3 have indicated that even with advanced cellular regeneration and restorative procedures, due to the damage received before the patient was recovered, cardiac and respiratory functionality will be reduced. I have ordered remaining medical teams to verify these results. If their conclusions agree, we may have to consider organ replacement.

* * *

**DATE:** 2183-301

**LOG ENTRY:** Upon verifying the data, the initial findings regarding the patient's heart and lungs were confirmed. Furthermore, the initial estimates to the change in level of functionality are worse than expected. It appears that organ replacement is our only option.

* * *

**DATE:** 2183-359

**LOG ENTRY: **Upon removal of the heart and lungs, we discovered an infection present in most of the patient's (remaining) tissues. Immediate quarantine measures were activated and the diseased flesh was removed. The spread of the infection was massive but we have managed to remove all traces of it. The little that remains of the patient was transferred to the back-up stasis pod after thorough decontamination. If she were conscious, I would pity her greatly. As it is, I find her pretty damn creepy – currently she's just a brain and spinal cord with eyes floating in a glass tube. Most team members comment on how the eyes appear to follow them about the lab.

* * *

**DATE:** 2184-001

**LOG ENTRY:** Due to the extraordinarily substantial amount of flesh we have had to remove, the chances of successfully replacing removed tissues with organs grown from the patients remaining cellular composition are below 1% – we do not have enough material left to work with. This was planned for however, even if it means failure of one of several of the project's key aims. I will have to consult with the medical teams and the Vindex Scientific Director, General Vipsanius (not a conversation I'm looking forward to!) before I green-light the required procedures.

* * *

**DATE:** 2184-009

**LOG ENTRY:** Today, I authorised the implementation of the back-up plan. To say the team were fairly shocked about what they have been asked to do is a bit of an understatement, but they are professionals so will proceed as required.

* * *

**DATE:** 2184-012

**LOG ENTRY:** Excellent news – for the first time since the beginning of the project we began adding tissue to the patient. It is too early to say whether the procedure will be successful, but after our awful run of bad luck, it feels good to have something to celebrate!

* * *

**DATE:** 2184-054

**LOG ENTRY:** Tissue regeneration is up to 54% and all new internal organs have developed sufficiently. A lot of work remains to be done, but our medical director seems confident that we can begin connecting the original nervous system into the newly generated one within the next few days.

* * *

**DATE:** 2184-092

**LOG ENTRY:** After extensive work, the entirety of the patient's surviving original organ systems have been bonded into the new cellular structure. Tissue regeneration is at 89% and modification work on the patient's eyes has been completed. All estimates project a successful completion to the medical aspects of project within the next 100 days with brain activation and repairs occurring after the completion of tissue regeneration. Phase II of the project will be a longer process than first anticipated due to the adaptations required in Phase I. I have requisitioned a psych team from another facility on this moon and am recommending that the patient is awaken in a way where we can explain any changes before she discovers them herself. I have a feeling she might be slightly pissed at what we've done, but it was necessary given the alternative.

* * *

**DATE:** 2184-200

**LOG ENTRY:** Brain functionality of the patient has been fully restored and we are hopeful that there will be no memory loss. We will attempt to awaken the patient tomorrow, but I am confident that Phase I has been a major success. I have ordered our tech teams to be standing by to reactivate her profiles and create any new ones deemed necessary. Engineering teams have begun construction with completion forecast for early next year. Recruitment specialists are standing by – however, I feel that the patient should have some say in the majority of her new crew positions. Talons crossed for tomorrow.


	3. Awakening

Commander Tiberia Galerius was worried. Today they were going to attempt to awaken the patient – "'Shepard' – not 'the patient'" she reminded herself – and let her know what had changed since the loss of Normandy.

Although _officially_ she didn't know about it, there was a substantial pool of credits riding on what Shepard's reaction to the news would be. Although the largest amount of money was placed on a 'shocked but stable' reaction, citing her pre-Alchera psych profile, there was a worrying amount being bet on a less diplomatic response, often with Shepard's biotic abilities being employed. The worst case scenario, although Galerius was convinced that it was intended more as a joke than as an actual prediction, was 'a motherfuckingly huge biotic explosion that ends up fucking destabilising the orbit of Nanus'.

"Impossible," Galerius told herself, "Shepard's biotics are powerful – especially with her new implants – but even she would find it impossible to move a moon!"

The pool had her worried though, and she had spent most of the morning arguing with the recently-arrived psych team that the safety of base personnel was _slightly_ more important than any issues Shepard would have waking up without a group of people willing to help her. In the end however, a compromise was reached – Shepard would be woken up whilst under the effects of a muscle relaxant, thus prohibiting her from moving her head enough to discover the more major of the changes herself whilst simultaneous preventing any physical confrontation with any of the project staff after the news had been broken. Staff would be kept out of the room unless absolutely necessary and any staff within the room would be wearing high-grade armour and shield generators under their labwear.

It was the psych team she felt sorry for though – the situation they were going to be facing in the imminent future was hardly textbook. It was hard to say whether anyone could have even visualised the scenario even taking place, let alone trained for it.

* * *

"Sedative levels dropping!"

"Increased activity on the EEG!"

"Reactions to outside stimuli!"

"Consciousness regained in 3...2...1..."

* * *

"Light?" thought Shepard, "That's unexpected!"

Having your last memory as floating away from an exploding ship into the black vacuum of space listening to your air hiss out of a suit rupture would place most events afterwards as 'unexpected' at best.

"Well, let's find out the damage..."

Shepard tried to raise one of her arms, with no response.

* * *

"Heart rate is rising!"

* * *

A Turian in a lab coat blurrily entered Shepard's vision. She blinked a few times and she swam into focus.

"Commander Shepard? I'm Commander Galerius, Tiberia Galerius, and I'm the director of this facility."

Shepard tried to respond but couldn't get any reaction from her vocal chords.

Galerius spotted the confused look in Shepard's eyes, "We've got you on a pretty strong muscle relaxant, that's why you can barely move or speak. Blink twice if you can understand me."

The confusion remained, but Shepard slowly and carefully blinked twice.

"Good. I'm guessing you are fairly puzzled as to why you are here and not at an Alliance facility."

Shepard didn't respond, but it was obvious that she wanted the answer.

"Before I tell you, I should probably say who and where we are. This is Project Anastasis Base and we are currently on Nanus, one of the two primary moons of Palaven. We are part of Vindex, a secretive offshoot of the Turian Military founded over a millennium ago by the Council of Primarchs with the sole mission of the advancement of the Hierarchy. Over time, we have taken on other missions deemed too sensitive even for the Blackwatch to handle and are afforded an almost limitless budget and carte blanche power to do whatever we feel necessary to fulfil our prime directive. We are almost unheard of, even amongst the higher levels of the standard military, but everything we do has a purpose and that purpose always serves Palaven well."

She paused for a moment to let Shepard absorb this information.

"Now we get to where you come in. Our command board – the Nine Generals – have been following your career intensely for the last few years. They even persuaded Councillor Sparatus to accept your name for Spectre candidacy, although we hear you were subject to his legendary scepticism on multiple occasions! We wish we could have helped more in countering Saren's actions, but he was unaware of our existence at the time and we could not afford to let our presence be known by Species 41, or the Reapers as you call them."

The look of surprise must have been obvious in Shepard's expression, as Galerius continued:

"Yes Commander, we were observing Sovereign for several months before the attack on Eden Prime and after collecting the majority of the more advanced pieces after the Battle of the Citadel, we confirmed the truth in the majority of your claims. We found very little evidence that he was only the vanguard for a larger fleet, as you claim, but after reviewing the remainder of the facts, we are inclined to believe you. Nobody outside of Vindex is aware of this – civilian morale and whatnot – but those of us who do know are making preparations, especially in terms of shield and weapons technology. Finally, we get to you and why you are here. During the attack over Alchera that destroyed Normandy, an attack I'm pleased to say that most of your crew survived, you were dislodged from the ship by an explosion and were knocked into space with a breach in your helmet seals. You blacked out soon after due to hypoxia. There's no easy way to say this Commander, but you died over Alchera. That's why you are here."

* * *

"Heart rate rising again, prepare sedatives if it exceeds 140!"

* * *

"Vindex spent a lot of time and effort recovering you – we had to simultaneously outfox your old squadmate, Dr. T'Soni, and agents of the Shadow Broker, something that took a lot of planning! You've been at this facility for over a year now Commander. The Nine Generals believe that you are a symbol – you destroyed a Reaper for fuck's sake – and although we don't know if they feel fear, if they do then the Reapers probably fucking fear you Commander – I know I do and were pretty much on the same side! That's why you are alive right now. The Generals ordered us to bring you back, as you were, plus one or two upgrades."

Galerius stopped and glanced down. From what she knew of Turian behaviour Shepard sensed that the director was filled with self-disappointment.

"That's where I'm afraid we failed."

* * *

**A/N:** I will be following the pseudo-convention established amongst the ME community and give Turians subharmonics – messages conveyed subharmonically will be indicted by underlined italic text (in almost all cases this will follow normal speech) so '"Hello"_How are you?_' would indicate that "Hello" was spoken aloud and the message "How are you?" was conveyed subharmonically.

With the dating system I use, I have assumed that (magically) a galactic year is equivalent to an Earth year, but each day consists of 20 hours, with each hour being equal to 100 minutes and each minute 100 seconds.


	4. Reaction

Commander Galerius suddenly became quieter:

"This project only had two primary aims. Just two. But we failed."

Her voice became more agitated:

"We expected a few minor setbacks, in fact we would have been surprised if there weren't any at all, but we didn't expect to have such a fucking awful run of bad luck as we did. In the diagnostic and observational stages we had pretty much all the fucking bad luck you could get. The Valluvian Priesthood from our pre-spaceflight era would have probably called it a message warning us not to attempt to give ourselves the power of their Titans. Superstitious nonsense if you ask me – you always get issues with cutting-edge projects, we just got more issues than most. I could give you precise details later if you want, but I'll just say that a combination of substantial organ damage and a rapidly spreading infectious pathogen let us to take steps which forced us to fail catastrophically fail one of the major aims of the project. Thankfully, due to some quick action, we managed to prevent the infection from contaminating your central nervous system – your brain and spinal cord especially – and your eyes. The original plan in terms of your recovery was to harvest a collection of healthy cells from the tissue we preserved, alter their structures using a Salarian-pioneered process to form stem cells containing your DNA and then progress from there. Unfortunately, due to the amount of diseased, damaged and deceased tissue we were forced to remove, there wasn't enough remaining tissue to take a large enough sample for the process to work without risking brain functionality. That's when we had to go to our backup plan. I originally hadn't even contemplated a scenario where it could get to a level where we needed such a plan, but the Generals insisted and it was included in the project files. Even though it was their idea to include it, they weren't best pleased when we had to use it. They knew any use of it would mean sacrificing one of the project goals. Thankfully, the plan was a success."

Shepard's eyes looked at the Commander expectantly, and Galerius continued:

"I can see you want to know what we had to do. I will tell you, I'll even show you, but I'll do that at the end. Firstly I want to point out where we actually succeeded, that might take some of the bitterness out of the failure. You'll be please to know in the time you've been with us there have been some advances in biotic implants and have replaced your L3 implants with an adapted set of L5s we obtained from the Alliance. We've also given you several implants to help improve your fitness, stamina, strength, damage resistance and healing."

She paused for a moment, as if sensing Shepard's apprehension, before continuing:

"Before you think it, we haven't turned you into Saren and jammed you full of Reaper tech – anyone can tell you that's a bad idea! All your implants are based on ones that already exist for medical reasons throughout Council space. Yours have had a few tweaks to make them more combat oriented and to allow for their internal positioning. They've also been adapted to be permanent enhancements, rather than temporary tools for use in a medical environment. That being said however, it's a fairly simple process to update them as medical corporations bring out new models. I'm proud to say you've rejoined the galaxy much better equipped than how you left it!"

Galerius paused again, nervous about what Shepard's reaction was going to be to what she said next:

"Now for the bad news – you've been at this facility for over a year now, the current date is 2684-201, and we've got some training and other work you'll need to do before we're ready to release you. That'll probably be early some point in 2685. Now for the news that I keep avoiding telling you – the back-up plan. As I said, we were forced to remove too much tissue for us to grow new tissue for you using your own DNA. Thanks to your adventures with the Prothean beacons and the Cipher, standard clone tissue wasn't an option either. The only method that had a chance of working was a pioneering new technique that uses a fraction of the cells required for the stem cell technique – just one or two cells was enough – which we felt much more comfortable harvesting. Using these cells and a DNA database, we are able to form stem cells with a compatible DNA. The resulting tissue might not be identical to the original, but it is guaranteed to work with all existing structures. Unfortunately, due to the nature of this technique, we need a fairly detailed database and, well, humanity hasn't got one with sufficient information. So, we had to improvise and put your DNA through a database that we know exceptionally well. One that we work with frequently. The Turian database. That's our failure Commander. We were told to bring you back as you were. Your brain and memories are exactly as they were over Alchera, they haven't changed. But physically you're different. I'm not even talking about the implants, you would have got those either way. Commander, I don't know quite how to put this but you're not exactly human anymore. Not close. As I said, we used the Turian database for your replacement tissue. We don't exactly keep Human records in there. And almost all of your tissues had to be replaced. Greatest amount ever recorded – almost 98%. And all of that came from our database. Commander, I can't really put this off any longer. You're Turian."

Commander Galerius quickly moved out of reach, in case Shepard's muscle relaxant had worn off earlier than anticipated. After a few heartbeats she turned to the medical team monitoring Shepard's vital signs:

"Well?" she asked.

"No change in heartrate. Being honest we were expecting a severe spike given her earlier reactions."

"Unusual activity on the EEG, not bad, just unusual."

"No biotic reaction."

"Sensors indicate presence of endorphins in the brain – she's happy?!"

Of all the reactions to have to being told that you've suddenly become a new species, happiness was not one the Galerius had even considered. Nobody on the team considered it. Nobody had even placed any credits on it in the pool (although _officially_ she didn't know that).

Galerius moved back towards Shepard:

"That wasn't the reaction I was expecting Commander! None of us were! I should probably warn you however that you're going to have acclimatisation issues. As I'm sure you're aware Turian movement, especially of the face, is different to that of humans. You'll also have issues speaking for a while – your brain still knows the languages you were taught in the Alliance, but your mouth may have issues forming the words. We're also going to teach you the major dialects of Palaven – you've got a translator in your omnitool implant, but most Turians would see you as odd if you don't respond in one of the common tongues – as well as teaching you how to read and write our language. You'll quickly re-master the skills you mastered as an N7, which is good as they'll be unexpected coming from a Turian, but we would think it wise if you had a good grasp of Turian fighting styles as well. We'll bring in tutors who will teach you the languages and the combat skills we think are required. Alongside this we're going to be giving you lessons in Turian history, culture and customs – your history, culture and customs I should probably say – and you will be having regular meetings with our psych team to help you come to terms with what has happened."

She paused for a moment and noticed the hint of worry in Shepard's eyes:

"We're not expecting you'll do all this unaided of course Commander! When we went to our back-up plan, we managed to increase your neuroplasticity temporarily. For the next several months, your brain has the same capacity to learn new information as it did when you were a child. On top of all of this learning, you'll be having regular meetings with me. We intend on eventually sending you on missions against anything we suspect has a connection with the Reapers and as I understand it, you like having a team. I've already drawn up a few names and will be working with you to complete the list. I'll also be the person to ask if you've got any questions about your former team or what the galaxy has been up to since you went away. I'm also going to try and find a way to let Councillor Anderson and the Alliance know that you've returned, so we can officially transfer your Alliance rank back to you, as well as attempting to reactivate your Spectre privileges. The Generals have also recommended that we induct you into the Hierarchy and the Turian Military so as to make you much more respectable to other Turians. We can't induct you into a clan without compromising the secrecy of this project so you will, unfortunately, be unpainted and treated with suspicious as most bare-faced Turians are. We will however, help you chose a Turian name and work out specific details of your back-story, but that can wait for a while. The eventual aim is for you to attend a small military academy on our sister moon, Menae, to gain your first military commission. They'll be streamlining the process as you will not need combat training whilst there. Your back-story is going to place you as having grown up and educated on a series of Alliance vessels, having been secretly adopted by a human couple in the aftermath of the Relay 314 Incident. That should help explain your knowledge of Alliance techniques as well as your unpainted status and, what we hope by then, are minor difficulties with the more basic Turian skills. Upon being accepted into the Alliance, you helped foster alliances between troops of both the Hierarchy and the Alliance, commanding squads comprised of members of both races on highly classified missions, as well as excelling on solo missions under both Turian and Human command. This will explain how a biotic Turian holds the position of Lieutenant Commander within the Alliance Navy, as well as having none of the skills required in a Cabal. It also will explain why we have instructed the academy on Menae to award you the rank of Commodore upon graduation."

Again, she paused, before continuing:

"Why the shock Commander? We reward good soldiers, and you're one of the best! Upon receiving this rank, you'll be invited to return to Nanus to join Vindex and head the military aspect of Project 41, whose aim to combat the Reaper threat. Your Spectre rank however, is the most tricky to reinstate. We're planning on working with the Council to have it noted that you received it after the Battle of the Citadel. Seeing that Spectre files are classified and most inductions are held in private – baring a select few special cases, such as your original appointment – this is unlikely to be questioned and serves as a good excuse for why you have been off-radar since then."

Galerius looked at the clock and realised that she was needed elsewhere. The Generals would be expecting a report.

"I've got to go now Commander. I believe the relaxant should be wearing off shortly – I believe the medical team wants to run a few tests when it does – after that I'm sure they'll let you check out your new form and help you sort out the basics: clothes, food and such. I'll be back tomorrow and we'll get started on your new identity and crew then. I'll also try to have some information on what has happened to your old crew since you were lost."

Galerius headed towards the door, but couldn't leave without giving Shepard one more bombshell:

"We're building you a ship Commander. I think you'll like her – she's a real beaut!"

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the amount of science (and monologue-ing) in these chapters – I'm fairly passionate about science and am studying mathematics at a UK university and I was disappointed with the level of explanation provided in ME2 for how the Lazarus Project worked and wanted to make up a futuristic sounding method for why the project worked and why Shepard ended up as she did in this AU (because, let's face it, I needed a pretty good reason to do it, unless I went down the mad scientist/crazy accident/more money than sense route). Hopefully, the amount of scientific description in later chapters should be a lot less (don't worry, I'll still try and explain why the more bizarre events happen and I might make Mordin go full on scientist at a few points, just because I want to try and keep this semi-realistic) and I apologise if the amount I've redefined future medicine bored you!

Also, Commodore is equivalent to the US Naval rank of Rear Admiral (Lower Half) and falls above Captain, but below Rear Admiral.


	5. Paperwork

Galerius was correct – the relaxant did wear off quickly and as soon as it did the medical team started buzzing around Shepard like flies.

She also was correct that Shepard would have acclimatisation issues. After the medical team finished, what felt to Shepard like, a barrage of tests, they moved her to a well-furnished room that they announced would serve as her living quarters and left her to her own devices. She rapidly decided to attempt to explore her new home. Sitting up on her bed didn't prove too problematic – "Easy" thought Shepard – she then went to swing her legs out over the edge of the bed and stand up. Not so easy. She managed it, as essentially the muscles were the same, but wouldn't be winning any prizes for style – she'd managed to get one of her new spurs caught in the bed sheet and, by the time she'd completed the manoeuvre, she had a ribbon of ripped cloth hanging off the back of her leg like some form of abstract pennant. Her balance was a bit off too,

"I always find it easier if I roll onto my side first Commander" came a voice from the corner where a female Turian with a lab coat and a collection of datapads and a small box stood – one of the psych team Shepard guessed. The Turian continued with what resembled a chuckle: "I'll see to it that Galerius increases the budget to the laundry department until you learn that." She walked over to Shepard, "I'm Dr. Aebutius – the head of the psych team – and I'm kinda glad I dropped by when I did, if we'd let you continue I have a feeling that you'd have made a formidable opponent to beastly enemies like vases, pot plants and ornaments."

Shepard tried to respond with a witty comeback, but only succeeded in managing to sound as though she was trying to dislodge something from her throat.

Aebutius gave Shepard the Turian equivalent of a smile before continuing: "I've brought you a datapad for you to use until you remaster such advanced skills such as talking – anything you want to say, type it in and then show us – and have also brought you some standard Turian clothing for you to try on, and judging by your earlier war against bedding, I'm glad a brought a few spares!"

Within a few hours, and with Aebutius' help, Shepard had managed to master getting in and out of Turian clothing – not easy considering getting the spurs fully into their covers involved a sharp tug on the material in just the right direction. Between this and the number of other sharp edges on her new body, there was a considerable number of outfits destroyed before Shepard was happy getting in and out of casual-wear – 'Collateral damage!' she wrote on her datapad with a smile before showing it to Aebutius and pointing to the pile of ruined material.

Once she was dressed, Shepard started moving around the room, using her datapad to ask a few questions about Turian physiology. After a while she stopped in front of a tall narrow window with a friendly looking Turian on the other side. Shepard waved, and the Turian on the other side of the glass copied her movement. She moved closer to the window and the Turian did the same. She was almost about to ask Aebutius why someone would be copying her actions, when it hit her. It wasn't a window – it was a mirror.

Shepard carefully studied her reflection. She was taller than before – just shy of 2 metres but her best estimate – and her plates were a lighter grey than most Turians – closer to silver than the more common darker colours – but the skin underneath them was darker, but not dramatically so – a touch lighter than the colour used by the Alliance for its battleships. From what Garrus had told her aboard Normandy, she reckoned her mandibles, teeth and fringe were all well-developed for a Turian. However, it was her eyes were what shocked her – where one would have expected to see predatory eyes, a feature common to almost every Turian, hers were different. Galerius had told her that they'd managed to keep her original eyes, so she was expecting to see the same striking blue eyes that her entire family had looking back at her, but they weren't quite that either. Upon close inspection, Shepard realised that Galerius had altered them to fit with her new body. They retained their original colour and their shape was closer to the standard Turian style, but there was still something human about them. Shepard couldn't quite put her finger on it but decided that they suited her. In fact, she was pretty satisfied with her entire appearance, seeing that she was expecting something Saren-esque after the amount of rebuilding and implants she'd received. Turning to Aebutius, she indicated her appearance in the mirror and used her datapad to ask "What would Turians make of me?"

Aebutius was silent for a moment, observing the Commander's features before replying: "You're above average height for a Turian, more so as a female, but we're only talking fractionally here, so you won't look out of place. As you might be aware, your colouring is uncommon; it's native to a very small region of Palaven which contains our capital Cipritine. If it wasn't for your lack of markings, you would also certainly be considered a member of one of the older Palavian families. Your fringe and waist would be considered exceptionally attractive by males of our species and your teeth and mandibles indicate an excellent diet. From a distance, your eyes don't look too different. Their colouring is pretty unique, but not unheard of, and again is indicative of the older tribes of Palaven. Closer observation might raise a few questions, but you can pass them off as a mutation linked to your biotics. Your average Turian has little knowledge of biotics within our species, so wouldn't know enough to comment further." Aebutius then smiled again at Shepard, "In a way, I'm glad Vindex couldn't place you in a clan – without the distrust you'll get for being unpainted, you'd be getting endless invitations to attend fancy soirées with the eldest sons of aspiring clan patriarchs, hoping to woo the beautiful eldest daughter of a powerful and wealthy clan leader. That might sound like fun, but you'd hardly be left with any time for Reaper-bashing!"

Just then, there came a gentle tap on the door and another scientist came in, pushing a trolley containing a wide selection of food – none of which Shepard recognised.

"Commander Shepard – good to see that you're progressing so rapidly! It's getting quite late and Commander Galerius thought you might be getting hungry. She has suggested that you might want Dr. Aebutius to stay as you seemed to be getting on quite well."

At this point he pulled a little bottle of blue pills out of his lab coat.

"Just some vitamin supplements Commander. We developed them to overcome the dextro-levo-compatibility issues that will arise due to the fact that your brain still requires levo-chiral proteins, but your body can't absorb them from food."

With those words he placed the bottle on the trolley and left the room.

"So Commander," asked Aebutius "where do you want to start?"

* * *

_The next day..._

Galerius entered Shepard's quarters early the next morning prepared for Shepard's barrage of questions. Thankfully, although she had mastered the basics such as moving, eating and dressing herself, she was still stuck using the datapad to ask questions, so they couldn't be too relentless.

The first question, "What happened to the crew on Normandy during its destruction?" was one that Galerius had prepared for. She showed Shepard Alliance records of the incident, explaining that very few crew members were declared KIA – the most notable ones being Navigator Pressley and Shepard herself.

Galerius was also prepared for Shepard's requests on information about her former squadmates: Wrex, Shepard seemed proud of – going back to Tuchunka with the aim to unite the other clans. Tali's return to the Migrant Fleet and the return of Kaidan and Ashley to the Alliance were understandable, but Galerius could tell she was disappointed they were unavailable. The news of Liara's work as an information broker on Illium and her work attempting the recover Shepard's body for Cerberus seems to puzzle the commander and also anger her a little. Shepard made no request for further details, but Galerius suspected Liara would eventually be getting a bit of a surprise visit. It was Garrus that Shepard seemed most worried about – even with the resources of Vindex, very little information about what happened after the Commander's death could be found, however there were occasional reports indicating his presence on Omega and his running of a squad of vigilantes, which seemed to please Shepard more than anything.

Shepard seemed happy with the answers she received and indicated that she wanted Galerius to continue with the next item of business: her new identity.

It was always something that Shepard had thought about – what aspects of her life she would have rewritten. Fortunately for the members of the tech teams who had to implant and alter records to create Shepard's new identity, Galerius insisted that it was worked around the framework she suggested the previous day that had Shepard as growing on Alliance ships after being secretly adopted following the Relay 314 Incident. She had enrolled in the Alliance Navy and excelled at both commanding multi-race squads and serving on covert operations under Turian and Human leadership. Obviously there were a lot of gaps in the story to fill. Firstly her name – Galerius thought a Turian name would be the best choice, but Shepard argued that Alliance personnel would not have a large knowledge of Turian naming conventions in the aftermath of a war. In the end a compromise was reached – Prometheia – Turian enough so as not to arouse suspicion in normal situations, but fundamentally flawed enough that it would pass as the sort of mistake an Alliance officer would make without full cultural knowledge. Shepard also found it strangely appropriate – a female adaptation of a name from Old-Earth mythology where it was said that a champion of humanity stole fire from the Gods themselves and was sentenced to endless torment before being rescued and returned to their rightful place.

Working together, Shepard and Galerius decided to create an entire Alliance frigate, SSV Tewkesbury, and a crew that were nothing but ghost records. These would serve as where Shepard grew up, whilst preventing anyone countering her story. The imaginary ship was given a series of silent-running missions outside of the old borders of Alliance-controlled space, thus explaining why the crew never changed ships, including one immediately after the end of the war with the Turians, to investigate a drifting Turian ship that had been heavily damaged in the final days of the conflict. Mission reports were fabricated indicating that only one survivor was found aboard – a critically ill Turian child. Further entries were drawn up indicating the child was brought onboard the Alliance vessel where it was looked after by the XO, Master Chief Petty Officer Liam Bronstein and his wife, Tewkesbury's medical officer, Lieutenant Sandy Bronstein, who would serve in Shepard's back story as her adoptive parents. Upon the recovery of the child due to the running-silent orders given to the ship, she had to stay onboard until their mission parameters changed surviving on dextro ratio packs recovered with her.

By the time Tewkesbury made port, almost 9 years later, the Turian had been adopted and given the name Prometheia Bronstein, with her new parents indicating that trying to return her to Turian space that long after being recovered would have made the situation complicated. The Bronstein family returned to Tewkesbury after shore leave, embarking on another long stint away from Alliance space running silent. Whilst on board, Prometheia received a highly technical education from members of Tewkesbury's crew and upon. By the time the ship was relieved of this duty on 2172-284, Prometheia was 6 months shy of her 18th birthday. After electing not to return with the crew after shore leave was up, Prometheia enrolled at an Alliance-funded college in preparation for taking the examinations required for enlistment into the Alliance. Whilst there powerful biotic abilities, presumed to be the result of a damaged drive core aboard the Turian vessel combined with long term exposure to background radiation aboard Tewkesbury as a youth, were detected and Prometheia was fitted with adapted L3 implant. Shortly after graduating with outstanding grades in a wide range of technical fields, and excelling in additional examinations testing tactical analysis and field medical skills, she was accepted into the Alliance Officer Candidate School and the N7 training programmes. Because of her potential to aid in strengthening alliances with the Turian Hierarchy, and to prevent any xenophobic attacks on her, she carried out almost the entirety of the work required for these away from normal Alliance training facilities and under the direct authority of the System Alliance on Arcturus Station.

It was there that in 2175, just prior to her graduation with the rank of Junior Lieutenant, she heard of the destruction of Tewkesbury at Batarian hands and the loss of all crew members, including her parents. Although distraught, Prometheia refused to take leave, and after a psych review was cleared for active service on board a classified Alliance cruiser attached to a Turian special operations fleet. Due to her ability to act as a bridge between the races and her outstanding, although somewhat unorthodox, tactical skills, Prometheia was regularly given command of squads consisting of members of both races. Due to frequent exposure to the language, she managed to learn several dialects of Turian. Although her inexperience with the language and her unpainted status marked her as a clear outsider, her accomplishments were recognised, both by the Turian fleet, who nominated her in 2182 for Spectre candidacy along with some of their younger operatives, and the Alliance, who within the same time frame had promoted her to Lieutenant Commander.

After excelling on several missions under Spectre guidance, the nominees, including Prometheia were transferred to a civilian frigate for transport to the Citadel and the Council. Due to exceptionally bad timing, they arrived during the battle between Council fleets and the Geth and Sovereign. A few stray hits from Geth vessels on the edge of the attacking fleet, jeopardised the command chain within the vessel and, as the most senior military officer on board, within either the Alliance or the Hierarchy, Prometheia took field command of the vessel and ordered the crew to join the battle. Despite, almost suicidal tactics, a couple of near misses and the sacrifice of an entire stabilisation wing in order to let a Turian dreadnought, one that later turned out to be the personal flagship of a senior Primarch, recover its shields, the frigate managed to survive the battle, although it was scrapped soon afterwards by its private owners for being uneconomical to repair. Gaining her Spectre status from the Council shortly after the battle, Prometheia was ordered to track down remaining pockets of Geth along the edges of Council space. Successfully returning in late 2184, the Primarch who survived the Geth attack arranged for her to receive a senior commission in the Turian Military in reward for saving his life and for her earlier service in conjunction with the Alliance.

Although the cover was complex, it gave Shepard the perfect explanation for her less-than-standard persona as well as explaining why very few members of galactic society would have seen her. Very few false documents would require generating and whilst implanting them successfully would require access to Spectre files and Alliance databases, Galerius felt that these would not be hard to accomplish after notifying the respective bodies of Shepard's reappearance.

After finalising the back story, Galerius left Shepard for several hours whilst messages were sent and documents were generated.

* * *

Later in the afternoon Galerius returned:

"Commander – excellent news! Both the Systems Alliance and the Council have tentatively agreed to give us access to their databases and have both confirmed their willingness to reinstate your old positions and awards. However, they have demanded that you first have a meeting with, at the minimum, Councillors Anderson and Sparatus. I've explained you *ahem* vocal predicament, so they've agree to wait until you've recovered that skill."

She then gestured towards another Turian standing behind her:

"This is Dr. Papirius, a linguistics expert and speech therapist. In light of the message, I thought we should put a great deal of emphasis on helping you recover your ability to speak the languages you already know, as well as teaching you the main Turian dialects. We'll start giving you daily combat sessions soon and fit in the rest of the training when we can. I'll leave you to get started."

"Right Shepard, we're going to begin by going through the basic vowel sounds. I want you to pay close attention to my mouth and mandibles as I form them, then I want you to try..."

* * *

**A/N:** The (only) method I can see of getting Turian "trousers" on is they go on like a pair of normal trousers, but they first bunch the lower leg material around about where their knee would go. Once they'd got into them like this, they would tug the bunched-up material down over the rest of the leg making sure they lined up their spur with a closed sleeve-like cover. Bit of a hassle to get on and off, which might be why Turians are very rarely seen out of armour!

To put Shepard into a bit of context, I'm writing the Shepard I play – highly Paragon, but admits Renegade action is sometimes necessary, spacer background, war hero and adept class. Appearance-wise, she was the default ME1 appearance, but with blue eyes. I completed all the side missions and chose to save the Council in the Battle of the Citadel.

Also yes, Kaidan and Ashley both survived Virmire in this AU. I kinda find them both douchebags (especially in ME2/3) but originally killed off Ash, so am better equipped to write the Kaiden-survives choice. However, I've got such an awesome image of Ashley's reaction to Turian Shepard that she also survived Virmire just so I can see if I can put that image into words.

Finally, some story updating news – I've been spoiling you all a bit with daily updates, but the new term at University has just started and I've got dissertations etc. to write, so updates might be less frequent depending on how much work is pending. As compensation, the chapters will be a bit more plot oriented – Shepard's Turian bootcamp will be in the next update and after that I'll move into an adapted form of the storyline, so they'll be a good balance between action/dialogue/things actually happening – and I aim to make them a bit longer. Apologies once again for the slowness of these opening chapters, but I needed to impart a lot of background so (at least in my mind) the story would at least be plausible in the ME universe and allow Shepard to move around as a highly ranked Turain and Alliance officer without somebody suddenly realising that no such Turian exists. I'm going to skip the rest of the training that Vindex is offering however, I don't have the time to generate several dialects of Turian, a detailed history of the Turian race and the Turian military training manual, sorry! I might throw in a few references in later chapters, but they'll be minor details. We'll pick up next time shortly before Shepard goes through a condensed form of bootcamp. I'm also aiming to put the Council/Shepard conversation in there and Shepard getting some choice in whom she wants on her new team.

**Update:** Thanks to everyone who pointed out my dating system was off, I was trying to use the Galactic Standard System on the ME Wikia, but in the end, it just seemed to confuse everyone (including myself) so I've changed it to the standard human calendar.


	6. Tests

**A/N:** As Shepard will be able to understand Turian from this point onwards, I thought I should put a reminder that I will be using _text like this_ to indicate subharmonic communications. I'm also using the timing system that is mentioned on the wiki: a 20 hour day, with 100 minutes in each hour and 100 seconds in each minute.

* * *

**DATE: 2184-303**

Having completed an intensive training regime for the last 100 days or so, Shepard could read and write Turian almost as well as a native, could speak 12 dialects of Turian with only her accent identifying her as a non-native speaker, had a comprehensive knowledge of Turian expressions and was using them subconsciously. She had an excellent knowledge of Turian culture, had regained the skills learnt during Alliance and N7 training and had supplemented this with an outstanding training in advanced Turian combat skills that would shame any member of the Turian special forces. She was scheduled to attend a Turian military facility for 60 days, starting later that week, to formalise her position and enter the Hierarchy and military.

However, Commander Galerius had arranged for the call Anderson and Sparatus had requested to take place shortly and had requested that Shepard work with her afterwards to help chose the team she wanted for her missions after bootcamp.

* * *

Shepard stepped into the communications room in her freshly minted armour without any insignia. The incoming projections flared to life revealing Anderson, Sparatus and, in a bit of a surprise, Admiral Hackett.

Shepard stood to attention in the transmission field, "Councillors, Admiral, pleased to see you."

Sparatus, having received reports from Vindex through the Council of Primarchs, was the first to speak, "Shepard, or should I say Prometheia? _Or is it neither?_ Having received the reports directly from the Primarchs, I've got to accept them as genuine but I have my own suspicions, why would the Hierarchy spend such an extortionate amount of time, money and effort bringing an _Alliance_ operative back to life?" This earned the councillor harsh looks from Anderson and Hackett.

Shepard acted the complete professional when replying, "I prefer Shepard, but suppose I should start using Prometheia as that's the name I'm going to be called by most people. I can't offer any evidence for my identity or give you any reasons for why I was brought back, besides what I was told myself – that a well-funded division of the Turian military support my stance regarding the Reapers, and brought me back to help combat the threat. I've also seen files indicating that without Turian intervention I would have been recovered by either Shadow Broker or Cerberus operatives, both of which, unless the Council's stance has changed since I disappeared, are regarded as threats against the Citadel races. Besides that, anything I offer would just be supposition. Maybe it was the case that some highly ranked Turian didn't like the way the Council denounced intelligence passed to them by a Spectre who defeated a rogue _Turian_ Spectre who was shaming their race as signs of madness, even after that _human_ Spectre gave orders to save the Citadel _and the Turian councillor_ from certain destruction, even at the cost of Alliance vessels."

The Turian councillor broke eye contact and, from Shepard's new knowledge of Turian expressions, appeared embarrassed.

Anderson was the next to speak, "Shepard, having looked over your treatment files, I don't believe someone would go to this much effort and have this degree of influence to create a fake, so I inclined to think that you are, well, you. The problem with both of your requests is, well, I don't really know how to put this..."

Anderson broke off the sentence, and Hackett finished it off, "We need to see your combat skills Shepard, we can't reinstate you if you can't fight."

Shepard smiled, she had anticipated something like this and Vindex was only happy to help. She activated another projection showing that the communications room was, in fact at the back of a large warehouse, surrounded by terrain that greatly favoured attacking forces.

"This facility is part of a training complex that believes that impossible missions do not exist. I will be tasked to defend this room against a battalion of 500 holo-enemies based on those from the training simulators used by Special Forces in each of the Council races. There will also be several platoons of virtual Batarian and Vorcha specialist troops within this group, just to make it a bit more of a challenge. As the races do not like co-operating, there will be some disorganisation in enemy tactics, but I believe the size of the attacking force will make this a real challenge. A series of programmes will monitor damage taken by myself and, factoring in my improvements, most of which are noted in your reports, and any use of medigel, will cause a specialist undersuit that I am wearing to provide mental and physical impairments until I am judged to be healed. Throughout this entire simulation you will have complete eyes and ears over the entire battlefield. I will also be entering Turian bootcamp in several days, and I am sure that they will be happy to pass along any observations they make. Is that enough of a test gentlemen?"

* * *

After wiping the floor with a dramatic display of outstanding tactics, superior marksmanship and even a little hand-to-hand combat, Shepard allowed herself a small satisfied smirk as the training VI was projected into life.

"Shots fired: 3113. Accuracy: 98%. Shots taken: 6. Enemies defeated: 500. Mission time: 32 minutes, 27 seconds. New facility record set!"

Shepard returned to the communications room and could tell that all three of her contacts seemed impressed.

Adminal Hackett began the debriefing, "Shepard, even I've got to admit that was impressive – I know entire squads of N7s who wouldn't have lasted beyond the first minute. Your tactics were remarkable even if, as usual, a little unorthodox. Your combat style was almost unpredictable, employing a subtle mix of Aliiance and Heirarchy styles and techniques. Even your biotics were impressive – there were a few moves you used that wouldn't be expected outside of an Asari commando unit. I'm pretty convinced so, welcome back to the Alliance Navy Lieutenant Commander Shepard. On a slightly more formal note, you were scheduled to receive a promotion to a full commander after your return from the Amanda System in recognition of your actions against Saren and the Geth. Officially, this is your first report back since that mission, and in light of the outstanding performance you just pulled off, I believe I can justify awarding it now. What do you think _Commander_ Shepard?"

Shepard was fairly pleased, any mission especially one involving the Reapers was likely to contact with other Alliance personnel or human colonists and the increase in her rank could only help with relations, especially given the fact she no longer looked like a standard member of the Systems Alliance. "Honoured Sir," she replied, saluting the Admiral, "Thank you Sir!"

Anderson was the next to speak, "The Alliance will give you temporary access to our databases so that your generated back story documents can be integrated successfully. With regards to the reinstatement of your Spectre status, I'll vote in favour, given amount of effort that went into your resurrection, I won't be surprised if STG has a file on this project already, which will cause Valern to side with us. Assuming, Sparatus has no objections; Tevos' decision has little impact. She won't be able to stop the action so is more likely to abstain at worst."

Sparatus finished, "Commander, _apologies for my earlier behaviour_, I have no objections to you rejoining the Spectres, although I must officially ask that you refrain from creating a large stir regarding the Reapers whilst in Council space. The people like to see strong leadership and the implication that there is an enemy coming that we can barely comprehend does nothing to reassure them. With regards to your upcoming session of Turian boot camp, I wish you the best of luck. Almost every Turian I know comes back with horror stories, myself included, and I'd like to see your views on how it compares to the Alliance training programme."

With that, the councillors and admiral terminated the communication and Shepard headed to clean up before her meeting with Galerius later that day.

* * *

"Right Commander, it's probably about time we started choosing who you want on your team and what sorts of people you want us to keep an eye out for. We've already got most of the operating crew ready, including a pilot and medical officer who you may recognise. The crew on board will be mostly Turian, although we've snagged a few Alliance engineers. We've also got tabs on a development scientist who used to work for the Salarian STG who we think will come in handy, as well as several experts in biotic and stealth combat. Additionally, we've found a few expert soldiers, including possibly a Krogan, who you may also want to recruit. Finally, there will be a few senior Vindex personnel joining you on your ship, I'll be on board as both as an expert in the technology in your new form and as a technical expert for ground missions, Lieutenant Marcus Quinctilius – who led the operation to recover you body – will be joining as a seasoned combat veteran, and Dr. Aebutius will be on board to continue assisting you in terms of your recovery. We've also left a few spots open in case you decide to recruit anyone else during your mission. Does that sound satisfactory?"

Shepard thought for a moment, the crew Galerius had chosen sounded ideal – a good range of skills and talents – and she could always _accidentally_ leave anyone she didn't like behind when they stopped for supplies. "Just one name I'd like to add to that list – Garrus Vakarian – he helped me take down Saren and the Geth, and I trust him to watch my six."

Galerius sighed, "As I've said already Commander, we don't really know where he is. There were sightings of him on Omega in the Terminus Systems shortly after you death, but he hasn't been seen since. However, if you do find him, he is more than welcome to join your team."

* * *

**DATE: 2184-316**

**LOCATION: HIERARCHY ELITE FORCES MILITARY ACADEMY, MENAE**

"Greetings cadets, we've got an additional member joining our group for the remainder of your training. Highly irregular I know, especially with only 50 days to go, but our _illustrious_ guest has already been made a full commander in the Alliance after passing their _even so challenging _version of bootcamp. She even holds the _distinguished_ rank of Spectre, but none of those titles matter here. She's here because some fancy bureaucrat wants her to hold a position in the hierarchy, and I'm not _important_ enough to refuse or insist she starts from the beginning."

Shepard felt a complete fool standing at the front of the barracks next to a training officer whose voice dripped with sarcasm. She knew that the sort of introduction she just received would not endear the other cadets to her, especially seeing that her training uniform and armour had been marked with both her Alliance rank and the symbol of the Spectres. She also knew that even without the special attention, she wouldn't have been welcomed with open arms – an unpainted biotic Turian significantly older than the rest of the recruits would have been greeted with distrust and suspicion right from the start. As it was, the level of hostility in the stares the other candidates were giving her made her glad she was only there for 50 days.

The training officer then turned to Shepard, "Cadet Bronstein, everyday at boot camp is the same. You will wake at 05-50-00, your morning meal is served at 05-75-00 and training begins at 06-00-00. From then until 10-00-00, you will be carrying out a variety of drills and classroom sessions – tactics, weapons practise, field medicine and so forth – this will be followed by a 25k run. We stop serving the midday meal at 10-50-00, so that serves as your incentive to complete the course in a reasonable time. Afternoon sessions start at 10-75-00 and consist of one long exercise testing all of your skills as a group." He smiled for a moment, the sort of smile that isn't a you-and-I-are-going-to-be-friends kind of smile, rather it was the sort of smile you see on the face of someone who is about to commit a dastardly deed and caused Shepard's heart to sink in her chest, "Seeing that you are so qualified, I think it is only natural that you take charge on that exercise for today, and I'll make sure to increase the difficulty to make it a proper challenge."

Shepard gave a smirk to herself at his last comment; nothing he could devise would be tougher than the combat simulation she had excelled in under the observation of the councillors and Admiral Hackett.

* * *

Shepard, as expected, excelled on the purely military aspects of the morning activities, thrashing the other cadets in her group with both pistols and assault rifles. Her performance with shotguns and sniper rifles was acceptable, but several poor shots led to her gaining several press-ups in punishment. Her knowledge of battlefield first aid was outstanding, although she struggled with the more Turian-specific injuries. As was to be expected with a Spectre, her tactics were regarded as reckless but were judged militarily sound, if not expected from a Turian. However, it was with Turian military drills that Shepard struggled the most – her technique was fine, but she failed to properly adjust for the difference between Alliance and Turian colleagues so kept leaving either too big or too small a gap between her and the soldier next to her.

It was in the afternoon exercise that Shepard showed her real skills though. Although her squad didn't yet completely trust her and left her wishing for just one member of her old team to join her, the Turian chain of command had been drilled into their heads meaning that where she had been appointed squad leader, they should follow her commands, even if they didn't agree with them. Their objective was simple; Shepard and her ten-strong squad had to capture and hold an enemy outpost that offered a clear line of sight in all directions. The opposition forces would be played by other squads from the facility and all would be armed with non-lethal weaponry.

Shepard decided that a frontal assault was both too obvious and too risky so decided that her team would attempt to sneak into the facility in small groups by pretending to be returning to base after scouting around the facility. Once inside, they would strategically place themselves in key locations near the opposing squad leaders before attacking en masse effectively eliminating the entire enemy command structure simultaneously. With the amount of confusion this would generate, Shepard believed they would be able to capture the entire facility within a short space of time and then use its defence systems to hold it.

This plan was met by quiet grumblings from her squad, yet one chose to voice what the rest were probably thinking, spitting it out with a challenging glare in his eyes, "Deceit and deception aren't really the Turian way _Commander_. _But what do you expect from a fucking bareface?_"

Within seconds, the hapless recruit found himself helplessly floating in the air around a singularity Shepard has created. She had tried to keep calm but given the nature of the insult which was technically accurate, due to her lack of markings, but was more often associated with Turians who had acted so shamefully they had been stripped of their facial markings by their own families and was the equivalent of calling someone a traitor to their species.

"Firstly," she said with the hint of a smile as she stared up at the helpless individual "the lack of markings is hardly by choice. My parents died before I was old enough to receive them and my adoptive_ human_ parents thought they were decorative rather than functional, this being in the direct aftermath of the Relay 314 Incident, so decided not to keep replacing my temporary ones after they wore off. Hell, it wasn't until I was assigned to a joint Alliance-Hierarchy mission that I even realised that I was supposed to have them. _And now I know what they mean, I think I'd prefer to be unpainted rather than be in such an unproductive clan as your own, cadet – what is it now, seventeen generations without a single member ascending above the tenth tier?_"

Shepard was quite pleased with herself, she'd managed to recall a significant amount of her generated history and, although she didn't particularly enjoy insulting others, thought that reminding the other cadet of his family's misfortunes in front of the rest of the squad was a good way of asserting her authority on the mission without causing him any permanent damage. With that she released the singularity and let the cadet fall to the ground, his pride more damaged than anything.

"Secondly," she continued, addressing the group as a whole now, "standard tactics are exactly what they would be expecting. I've found everyone panics when you throw something unexpected at them, and considering that there are 15 times more soldiers guarding that place than there are of us, we need that advantage."

Seeing that the squad, including the member who had spoken out were now acknowledging the logic behind this statement, albeit grudgingly, Shepard began to dish out orders regarding who would take which positions within the complex.

* * *

70 minutes later, Shepard finished moving into position near the enemy squad leader she had assigned herself. After checking one final time that everything was in position, she sent the signal and her entire squad simultaneously blew the paint grenades they hidden in key areas before opening fire on their designated targets. In the confusion that followed, it was easy to eliminate any remaining enemy forces. To say the defending squads were slightly pissed off at being beaten by a much smaller group, albeit one led by a Spectre, would be putting it mildly. Yet, they headed back to their barracks without any confrontation.

Shepard now knew that she and her team had 25 minutes to prepare themselves and the facility for whatever forces were going to get thrown at them. She decided the best way to do this would be similar in design to how they took the base originally – they would set the base defences to fire automatically, or through omnitool commands, and set paintball traps in and around the structure. Her squad would then hide near the entrance to the facility and subtly integrate themselves into the attacking forces. By detonating a series of smoke grenades and firing at other squads in the confusion, Shepard was hoping that the attacking squads would end up fighting amongst themselves, mistaking other attacking squads for Shepard's team.

Needless to say, her plan worked flawlessly. This was despite some additions that were clearly attempts by the training instructor to make the challenge too difficult for her and imply she wasn't worthy to be at the academy, including giving the attacking forces artillery and air support.

* * *

Over the next several weeks, Shepard's performance in the drills steadily improved and her outstanding, although unusual, tactics gained her respect from her squadmates and even the training instructor started warming up to her. Her military skill set was seen as being so good that even when she wasn't supposed to be in charge for the afternoon sessions, the team member who was regularly looked to her for tactical advice. By the time graduation came around, she was unofficially in charge of her squad, despite them being some of the best recruits in their year.

As Commander Galerius had stated, when Shepard graduated as a full member of the Hierarchy, she was granted the rank of Commodore and was requested to return to Vindex headquarters on Nanus to begin running anti-Reaper operations.

* * *

Galerius was there to greet her as her shuttle touched down, "I believe congratulations are in order, _Commodore_. To update you to the status of the mission, we've finalised the recruitment targets and your ship, which will act as your mobile command station, is ready and waiting for you. We've also uncovered something worrying that might interest you and we feel it's creepy enough to have a Reaper connection – human colonies are just disappearing, no signs of attack, even plates of food on the table, but no colonists. We've been informed of an attack on the colony of Freedom's Progress and have managed to delay Council and Alliance investigators to see if you can uncover anything they may end up missing. Assuming this is OK with you, we're aiming to depart for the system as soon as you are on board the ship. Speaking of which, there's a few surprises regarding the ship that I think you'll like!"

Shepard started to move down the corridor to the hanger with Galerius at her side. Passing by the observation window, she got the first glimpse of the ship.

"Is that _Normandy?_" she asked, somewhat shocked.

"Not quite Commodore. That's the PFS Normandy SR-2, it's based on the same design as the original – not difficult seeing that we were the ones who suggested the collaboration that led to the construction of the SR-1 – but it's had several improvements and is much bigger to accommodate its additional functions and expanded crew size. It's also now flying Hierarchy colours."

As Shepard cleared the airlock, two familiar faces were waiting for her.

"Commodore Prometheia? Dr. Karin Chakwas at your service, I'll be serving as Chief Medical Officer on board Normandy SR-2, and this is Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, who will be serving as your primary pilot having served exceptionally on the original."

Shepard realised that neither of them recognised her as their former Commander and made a mental note to quietly let them know as soon as she could. Realising that now she was on board, the crew were waiting on her say to depart, she flashed them a quick smile.

"All hands to stations. Set a course for Freedom's Progress!"

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay in writing and posting this chapter, I had an essay worth 5% of the final year of my degree due on Monday, so have been working on that. I was also struggling a little to think of how to make this chapter work as, unlike my others, I didn't have any events from gameplay to work from and it's the first non-setup chapter I've written – the next chapters should be slightly easier as I'm aiming to follow the overall ME2 story arc, although I will be changing conversations, on-board events and any missions that are Cerberus-specific (for those who like the Cerberus characters, they will be making minor appearances throughout the ME2 part of this FF and Cerberus definitely will be worked into the ME3 part, albeit in a smaller role than they are in the actual game). Updates will probably be slightly more frequent than this from now on, (I'm aiming for 2 or 3 a week, but no promises) but that might change depending on my workload.


	7. Angels and Demons

**A/N:** There are sexy times later in this chapter, so if you don't want to read them, skip the paragraph that starts with them sparring.

* * *

"Course laid in Commodore," came a slightly robotic, but nevertheless Turian reply, "we will be departing as soon as the Flight Lieutenant takes the helm."

Shepard looked around for a moment, searching for the source of the voice, and then a projection of a Turian appeared in front of her.

"A pleasure to meet you Commodore – I'm AMI and I serve as Normandy's onboard intelligence. I assist the Flight Lieutenant on the bridge, can provide tactical assistance and battlefield information when you are ashore and assist with the administrative duties that are associated with your position as Military Commander of Project 41 and as Captain of Normandy. In ship-to-ship combat, I also am able to operate Normandy's weapons and cyberware programmes. If authorised by a senior crew member, I can take full control of all of Normandy's systems."

Shepard was puzzled by the amount of sophistication and trust placed in, what she assumed to be, a VI and turned to Galerius for an answer.

"AMI here is unique Commodore; she's the result of another Vindex project and is probably one of our greatest successes. She has the mind of an organic, supplemented with additional processing power and links to military and civilian databanks. She is based on the mind of one of our finest intelligence operatives and the daughter of a senior hierarchy official. Shortly after becoming the Intelligence Director for Vindex and ascending to become one of the Nine Generals, it was confirmed she had the recessive gene that causes Corpalis Syndrome, and rather than face years of slowly losing her mind and dignity, she authorised a small project to develop a way to allow her to create a digital copy of her mind. It took several decades, but in 2146 we created a perfect copy of her mind. Shortly after confirming the success of the project, she announced her retirement from Vindex, electing to start a family, yet she still occasionally turned up to update the personality matrix for the programme, insisting that the maternal instincts she has since gained would ensure that her copy could be trusted to defend those it was tasked to work with. As our technology has improved, her function within Vindex has greatened. Originally, she was just used in an advisory capacity, but as we managed to increase the levels of digital augmentation she began interfacing with operatives' omnitools to provide battlefield support. This is the first time she has been deployed on a mobile operations station, but we only recently managed to successfully integrate the latest database links and processor augmentation. Her name, AMI, stands for what she is – an Augmented Military Intelligence – it was chosen so that she could develop her own opinions and viewpoints, based on the underlying personality matrix supplied. Recently, the Vindex director she was based on has stopped coming in to update the matrix; her Corpalis Syndrome has progressed to the stage where she has lost her memories of her early life, yet her mind still lives on within AMI."

Shepard looked back at AMI, somewhat amused by the rapidly growing list of 'miracles' Vindex appeared to be able to perform, when the slight vibration signifying that the engines were running started.

"We are away Commodore," stated AMI, "Estimated time until arrival around Freedom's Progress currently stands at 2 hours, 17 minutes. In the meantime, would you like me to show you the Normandy SR-2?"

Shepard nodded an affirmative.

"You are currently on Deck 2, consisting of the helm, port planetary airlock and CIC. To the rear of the deck we have the offices and quarters of the Chief Scientific and Executive Officers, both of which are currently vacant positions, accommodation for bridge staff and access to my server room. Above us is Deck 1, colloquially referred to as The Loft, which serves as your office and quarters. Deck 3 serves as the mobile operations centre for Project 41, containing tie-ins with the Vindex network, a briefing room, a galactic monitoring system and communications suites. The quarters of all senior onboard Vindex personnel are located on this deck, as is the starboard planetary airlock. Deck 4 houses the majority of crew quarters, the mess hall, observation lounges and weapons systems. The medical bay and life support processes are also housed on this deck. Deck 5 is split into two levels. The upper section of the deck contains the onboard gymnasium and sparring rooms, whilst the lower section is reserved for engineering and in addition houses the quarters of the Chief Engineer and the auxiliary cargo bays. Deck 6 contains the armoury, primary cargo bays and hangers for shuttles and ground vehicles. Do you have any questions?"

"No," replied Shepard, "I'm fine, but could you ask the Flight Lieutenant and Dr. Chakwas to meet me in my cabin in 15 minutes?"

"Certainly, Commodore."

* * *

_15 minutes later..._

Shepard had to admit that the Turians knew how to build a ship. Her cabin was luxurious with a huge bed and an en-suite bathroom. It even had a well-equipped office space with a private terminal, a display case for her collection of model ships and, odd as it was on a starship, a fish tank. It was a lot better than the accommodation even the captain would get on a standard Alliance ship.

Right on cue, her door chimed, letting her know that Joker and Chakwas were outside. She instructed AMI to let them in.

"Come on in," she said, "I've got something to tell you – you may want to sit down. Do you want a drink?"

Shepard poured a glass of Serrice Ice Brandy for Chakwas and a glass of Thessia Red for Joker.

"What I'm about to tell you can't leave this room. There are very few people on this ship who know this and even fewer off the ship that fall into that category. I'm not even sure of the science behind it and I'm not even sure why the technology involved worked, but I'll try and explain it as best as I can. Despite what the records say, I didn't exist until a few months ago. Most of this body is, in fact, the result of extensive medical treatment. To the best of my knowledge, the only parts of the original me that are still present are my brain and my eyes, which have undergone procedures to make them compatible with the rest of my body."

Dr. Chakwas looked impressed, "I never realised that the Turians had managed to complete such an extensive reconstruction."

"They don't normally perform replacement therapy to this extent. I was a bit of a special project. They..."

"Hey, hey, hey!" interrupted Joker, "Apologies for the insubordination Commodore, but you always seem to be referring to _your own race_ as 'they' – is there something you're not telling us?"

Shepard knew she'd been rumbled, "Yeah, there is one thing – not a big deal or anything – but I wasn't actually Turian when the treatment started."

Although she had to stifle a grin at the look of shock on Joker's face, it was Chakwas' expression that made her have to fight to hold back a laugh.

"Systems Alliance, born and bred," Shepard continued, tapping the Alliance symbol that was painted below the Hierarchy emblem on her chestplate, "Oh, and while we're throwing bombshells around, I should probably also point out that I was hardly, what you'd call, _alive_ when I went into the OR."

Joker, by this stage, was staring at her as though she was some kind of miracle, which, on observation, she kind of was. Chakwas however, usually the sedate ever-professional medic, had started spluttering.

Shepard decided to have a bit of fun before she put them out of their misery, "Oh Joker, sorry about the arm!"

Joker stared sharply at her at this remark full of utter confusion, "What?"

"Last time we spoke you told me to watch your arm. On reflection, I did knock it quite hard, which given the circumstances couldn't have been helped, but I think I came away with much worse injuries so you can't really complain."

Shepard smiled after delivering this last line, waiting for the penny to drop.

Joker turned pale, "C-c-c-commander? Is that really you? But the explosion... Your suit..."

Realisation also dawned in Chakwas' eyes, "Shepard? But, how?"

Shepard sighed internally, sentence structure – it always seems to vanish at the first signs of shock, "As I said, I was a special project. You'll have to ask Galerius for the details, she was head of the programme that brought me back, but as far as I'm aware a covert branch of the Turian Hierarchy, the same branch that is funding this mission, decided that me being dead wasn't a good idea. So, after fighting Shadow Broker and Cerberus operatives, they recovered my remains and aimed to bring me back. Unfortunately, there were a few complications, and this was the result."

"A few complications?" spluttered Joker, "That's how you explain it? You're Turian, Commander!"

Shepard shrugged, something she realised that she'd never seen a Turian do before, "You win some, you lose some. It's better than being dead."

Chakwas, seeming to have regained most of her composure, approached Shepard gesturing, "Commander, you don't mind?"

Shepard gave a brief nod and Chakwas began gently running her hands over Shepard's exposed arms and head.

"Incredible Commander! You're in fantastic shape for a Turian and, if you hadn't just told me, I'd have no idea that this was lab-grown tissue. No detectable scarring whatsoever. I'm surprised that the Turians managed to pull this off. If you don't mind me saying, I'm slightly shocked that they made you look as you did. For a Turian, you're a very fine example and, despite the lack of paint, I'm sure you'll have a few admirers, even amongst Turian high society!"

Joker coughed, although Shepard was suspicious that he was covering a laugh, "Admirers, eh? I'd love to see what Garrus thinks!"

Shepard, despite a little desire to see what Garrus _did_ think, knew she had to keep a low profile, so turned on her Commander voice, "No. As I said, the fact that I am, in fact, Commander Shepard, is highly classified, for my own protection. Vindex feels that if the fact is revealed, I'll have a lot of pro-human and pro-Turian groups hunting me down as a monstrosity, which we don't have time for." A slight smile crept into the next sentence, "Whilst I would like to see Garrus' reaction, as he's not part of the crew, it's a bit too much of a risk. The only people off this ship who know who I am are Admiral Hackett, the leaders of Vindex, a few senior Primarchs and the Citadel Council. All of whom were told using highest security channels."

Joker and Chakwas nodded, understanding Shepard's need for secrecy.

"Very few of the crew know who I actually am, but they have been vetted for high security clearance, so if they do find out it's not too much of an issue. However, I will ask you not to make it too obvious, especially you Joker, but because of my new persona's history with the Alliance, we can always use the excuse that you know me quite well because we worked together several years back or something. Now, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, as by my watch we're just over an hour out from Freedom's Progress and I should probably start suiting up."

* * *

Landing on Freedom's Progress with Commander Galerius and Lieutenant Quinctilius felt odd to Shepard as on almost every mission on the SR-1, Garrus and Wrex accompanied her. She also had very little clue as to how effective her two squadmate would actually be in combat. Stepping out of the shuttle into the snow-covered colony, Shepard couldn't help but remember Garrus' reactions on Noveria and his constant reminders that Turians didn't like the cold. Now she was Turian, she had to agree with him on that point – a lower amount of fatty tissue on her new frame made it a lot harder to retain warmth. Thankfully, her suit had an environmental pack, so was attempting to raise her temperature to a more comfortable one.

Moving through the deserted colony and spotting half-eaten meals everywhere gave Shepard the creeps – it almost felt as though someone was watching them, ready to snatch them away with the colonists. Her paranoia heightened when they were attacked by FERNIS and LOKI Mechs that had been reprogrammed to attack any species on sight, indicating that there must have been somebody left behind after the attack.

Pressing on, Shepard moved to open the next habitation module, only to find a group of Quarian marines on the other side, who immediately pointed every available weapon at the team of Turians who had appeared in the doorway. Just as she went to open her mouth to try and defuse the situation, the leader of the marines pushed their way to the front of the group and forced the Quarians to lower their weapons. As the Quarian squad leader turned to face them, Shepard recognised the purple fabric on her enviro-suit.

Groaning under her breath, Shepard addressed her two squadmates subvocally, "_Let me handle this, their squad leader is Tali'Zorah, who served on the original Normandy. She owes me a favour or two, so let's see how this plays out."_

Shepard, used to the timid Tali who had yet to complete her Pilgrimage from the old Normandy, was taken aback by the harsh question she received in lieu of greeting, "Who are you and what are a bunch of heavily armed Turians doing on a human colony?"

Shepard chose to ignore the question, "Tali'Zorah! Glad to see you're in one piece!"

At this, Tali looked slightly confused, "Have we met? Who are you?"

Shepard thought for a moment. She needed a way to convince Tali who she was, without revealing the fact to the remainder of the Quarians. Suddenly, she had an idea, "I'm not surprised that you don't recognise me Tali, it's been several years, and I've changed a lot, even surviving the impossible. Who I am is extensively classified, so I'd appreciate it if you don't blurt out my name."

At this, Tali looked puzzled, trying to work out how she could know this heavily armed, and apparently secretive, Turian in front of her.

Shepard continued, "I served on the ship that you claimed was too quiet and was happy to hand over the Geth data found on Solcrum. I hope it helped on your Pilgrimage."

At this Tali stumbled back in shocked, having realised who the Turian in front of her had to be.

Shepard held up her hand, "I know you must have a lot of questions, but now isn't the time and this isn't the place. All I'll say for now is that I'm back because the Hierarchy has factions in it that believe me, and I'm here because it seemed connected. Now, why are you here?"

One of the other marines spat a reply at her, "Why should we tell you, we don't have a fucking clue as to who you are. Why don't you stop with all this mystery bullshit and just give us a straight answer?"

Tali glared at the marine in question, "Prazza, I'll be doing the talking here! Needless to say, the _Spectre_ here and I are old acquaintances, and I trust her with my life. As I'm in charge her, that means _you_ will trust her with your life."

At this Shepard felt slightly self conscious as she saw the Quarians staring at her Spectre symbol impressed, becoming additionally stunned when they say it was next to an N7 tag and above her rank markings that her positions in both the Hierarchy and the Alliance Navy.

Tali turned back to Shepard, "We're here for a young Quarian who was here on Pilgrimage, Veetor, who we suspect was the one who reprogrammed the Mechs. We could always use a hand."

Shepard thought for a moment, helping to find Veetor would be a great way to repay the trust Tali had put in her, and also neatly tied up with her mission as the Quarian could know what happened to the colonists. "Works for me!"

* * *

Despite the loss or severe injury of all of the Quarians save Tali – due to foolish pride, they decided that they didn't want a mysterious Turian Spectre helping them complete a mission for the Flotilla so rushed off ahead into an YMIR Mech – the trip to Freedom's Progress was relatively successful. Veetor managed to have captured some exceptionally detailed readings on the attack and video evidence suggested the abductors were Collectors a species, according to Galerius, that came from beyond the Omega-4 relay, the manipulation of which suggested a Reaper involvement. They seemed to only be targeting human colonies, but due to the implications of Reaper involvement, it looked as though nobody was safe. Tali had also indicated that she would like to work with Shepard once her work for the flotilla was complete.

Shepard also had learnt a lot about Galerius and Quinctilius and their skills in battle – Galerius was excellent in close quarters and was also good at taking down shields, while Quinctilius was much better with assault rifles and his reinforced armour meant he could take a lot more hits than a normal Turian. Both were useful, but Shepard felt that they were no match for her old squad – they did get the job done, but it felt much less fluid than it was with her team from the SR-1.

Once back on Normandy and after attempting to review the findings, Shepard decided that they could really do with recruiting a Chief Scientific Officer to get more information out of the readings and develop a countermeasure for whatever devices the Collectors were using to paralyse the colonists. Looking through the recruitment profiles that Vindex had given her, she decided that Mordin Solus, the ex-STG operative that Galerius had highlighted, would fit the role perfectly. The fact he was situated on Omega, where Garrus was last seen, was an unexpected bonus, but Shepard decided that if they were going there, she might as well find out what had happened to him.

"AMI, plot a course and tell the Flight Lieutenant to get our asses to Omega pronto!"

* * *

Almost immediately after leaving her ship for the lawless asteroid, Shepard was stopped by a Batarian who insisted that she should go see Aria. Mumbling under her breath about constantly being ordered around, she followed his advice and headed to Afterlife. Wandering around the club on her way to see Aria she saw Fist, who since her intervention on the Citadel had fallen from grace and was now a dockyard worker, and Helena Blake, who appeared to have followed Shepard's orders and had gone from crime boss to social worker.

Approaching Aria's private lounge, Shepard was stopped by Aria's private security who insisted on a fully body scan. Despite the results coming clean, Shepard knew something was off when Aria was passed a datapad that caused her to raise an eyebrow.

Aria gestured for Shepard to sit, before cockily leaning back, "So, would you mind telling me why a _mostly_ Turian Spectre is paying a highly armed visit to the pirate capital of the Terminus Systems? I do hope it isn't to eradicate our mercenary groups as we've already got a team of do-gooders trying that one."

Shepard knew from the emphasis that Aria put on the word that she had an inkling as to who Shepard really was. Shepard decided to ignore the implied question and move directly to the point, "I'm looking for Mordin Solus, the former STG scientist. We're recruiting a team of experts, and he's on the list."

Aria looked at Shepard for a moment, as though judging whether she should give an answer, "Ah yes, Mordin, everyone's favourite scientist. He's currently down in the slums, fighting to cure a plague. You can try and get to him if you want, but just some casual advice first. He's a bit restless, never seems to shut up, and is just as likely to shoot you as he is to cure you. Also, the plague has taken a liking to Turians, so unless you happen to be very lucky, I suggest you hold your breath and run to get to him. Is there anything else?"

Shepard thought for a moment, she didn't want to force her way back into Garrus' life, but at the same time wanted to at least let him know she was alive. Mind made up, she asked, "Garrus Vakarian, an expert Turian sniper. Last I heard he was forming a small vigilante group here. Have you heard anything about that?"

Aria sighed, "Sounds a bit like the do-gooder I mentioned earlier, he's a Turian going by the name of Archangel. I'd recommend haste if it is him, half the merc groups on this rock want his head, so don't expect him to be around much longer."

Shepard looked at her team, and made, she told herself, a tactical decision, "Mordin can wait – we're going to have to get Chakwas to come up with some sort of immune-booster before we go after him. If Garrus is Archangel, and he's got that many mercs after him, he won't last long, so we're going after him first, understood?"

As Shepard got up to leave, Aria held up a hand to stop her, "I won't interfere in your tasks, neither of them really affect me. Just remember, there is only one rule on Omega, and if you break it, you'll be leaving through an airlock – Don't. Fuck. With. Aria."

* * *

Having convinced a merc recruiter that despite their military-grade armours and weapons they were, in fact freelancers, Shepard and her squad were in a transport to the base the merc groups were using to attack Archangel. The plan was to pretend to join in with the assault, but to actually sabotage it from the inside before going to rescue Archangel, who Shepard hoped was indeed Garrus. Wandering around the base, Shepard and her team subtly sabotaged equipment and siphoning credits to ensure the demise of the mercs. Noting that the mercs and other freelancers were beginning to move into position to begin the next attack, Shepard reported to Sergeant Cathka, the merc commander who was helping to co-ordinate the attack. Although usually she would despise such an action, where this was the Terminus Systems and he was a high profile merc, Shepard barely felt any remorse as she stabbed a welder into his back, rendering it impossible for the gunship to be completely repaired in time.

Crossing the barricade, Shepard took a few hits from Archangel that took down her shields, which quickly regenerated. Signalling to her team to be ready, she began to attack the mercs in front of them, primary using singularities to suspend them whilst her squad took the kill shots. After getting into Archangel's base and making their way up the stairs, they entered the room he was using as his sniper post.

"Archangel?" enquired Shepard.

The Turian sniper held up a talon for a moment, before clearing the last of the wave of freelancers from outside the base. Taking of his helmet he turned to Shepard, revealing that he was in fact Shepard's old squadmate.

"Garrus? What are you doing here, and what's with the nickname?"

Garrus looked puzzled at this, obviously confused at the sight in front of him.

"Commodore?" he asked, choosing the more senior of the two ranks displayed on her chest, "I could ask you the same thing. It's not every day that you see a senior member of the Hierarchy on Omega – especially one coming to the rescue of a vigilante who can't even keep his own team alive."

At this, he gestured around the room, where Shepard could see fallen soldiers covered in blankets and sheets.

"I wasn't even aware that any Turian biotics had been made a Spectre since the issues with the last one. I also hadn't heard that any Turian had served officially in the Alliance, let alone passed through the N7 programme. Either I'm very out of the loop, or there's something you're not telling me _and my instincts tell me it's not the former._"

Shepard nodded briefly, as they were recruiting him, he deserved to know the details. "You're not wrong, but it's quite a complicated tale, so I'll give you the key facts. I'm working with a covert division of the Hierarchy combating Reaper operations and am recruiting a team. You in?"

At the mention of Reapers, Garrus looked surprised, "I thought the Hierarchy denied all knowledge of the Reapers. The councillor even went as far to declare them the ravings of a madwoman."

Shepard was partially expecting this, since Vindex had told her that the existence of the Reapers was being officially denied, she had wondered what excuse the Council would have used to dismiss her claims.

"Officially they are, but covert teams don't always follow the official story, that's where we come in. What do you say? Want to save the Galaxy?"

Garrus thought for a minute, clearly reminiscing over the last time he'd helped save the Galaxy, "Sure, assuming we get out of here alive – which now that you've arrived had got a damned sight more possible. Just one condition, I want some answers."

"Once we're back on the ship, I promise. Now, what's your plan for getting out of here?"

* * *

After annihilating both the Blood Pack and Eclipse, Shepard was hopeful at getting Garrus out in one piece. They were currently fighting off the last remnants of the Blue Suns when Tarak's gunship blasted out the window of Garrus' base. As it fired a rocket towards Garrus, time seemed to slow for Shepard. Throwing a biotic shield in front of her, she managed to stop the rocket from decimating him, but the shockwave threw her across the room into the far wall, slicing her face open on shrapnel and knocking her unconscious. As she felt herself slip away she saw her team finish off the gunship, sending it spiralling out of control to crash into one of the surrounding buildings.

* * *

Rushing onto Omega's docks, carrying Shepard's unconscious form in his arms and with her team serving as a rearguard, Garrus got his first look at the ship his rescuers were flying. Despite being considerably larger, and marked with Turian insignia and colours, it looked remarkably like SSV Normandy SR-1. As they got closer, Garrus could see that it even carried the same name, although the System Alliance vessel code had been replaced with the equivalent Hierarchy code, and it was marked as the SR-2. Entering the ship, he noticed many other similarities with the original Normandy, but the sight of Dr. Chakwas rushing up from the medical bay and Joker nervously glancing at them from the cockpit really made Garrus wonder who these people really were.

Once Shepard was treated for her wounds, Garrus followed Chakwas back to her desk. "So Doctor, it's good to see you, and I'm sorry that this is going to sound a little blunt, but who the fuck are these people and why are you and Joker working for them?"

Chakwas gave a little grin, "It's good to see you too Garrus. Regarding why we are actually here, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the Commodore to wake for the full story, but I'll just say that being told that someone actually believed what really happened when we faced Saren was enough for me to come help out. Joker was a bit more sceptical, but given that the Alliance had grounded him, I'm not surprised he ended up joining us."

Garrus indicated the unconscious Turian that they'd brought in, "Can you at least tell me who she is?"

Giving a shake of her head, Chakwas replied, "I'm not really allowed to tell anyone much about her. Who she is, that isn't really the question, but I'll let her explain that to you. All I will say is that she's an old friend and that you can trust her with your life. She'll be up and about within a day if her scans are anything to go on, so you can ask her everything then. In the meantime, I suggest getting some rest yourself, from what I can tell, the only thing keeping you from collapsing on the floor is the massive quantity of stims in your bloodstream."

* * *

As always, Chakwas was correct, by the next morning Shepard was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking slightly annoyed at herself for having ended up in the medical bay. Turning around, she saw Garrus staring at her.

"So Commodore, are you ready to give me those answers yet, as I have a lot of questions?"

Shepard jumped off the bed and indicated the mess outside the window, "I'm supposed to be doing some sparring every morning, why don't you join me then we'll grab some breakfast and I'll answer your questions in my quarters?"

Turning to Chakwas, she asked "Has Galerius told you what we need before we track down Mordin?"

Chakwas nodded, "I should have the boosters ready by tomorrow, although I do recommend wearing full breathing apparatus for the mission though."

Shepard nodded and headed out of the door, indicating for Garrus to follow her. Heading down in the lift to one of the sparring rooms, Shepard reflected on her feelings for Garrus. On the SR-1, they were almost inseparable and trusted each other impeccably, he followed her on every mission and afterwards they shared stories from their pasts and voiced their fears to each other. In hindsight, if he had been a standard Alliance soldier, a great deal of what they had done would have been considered flirting, but because of the cross-species issue, it was never taken that way. Now that she was Turian however, she wondered if anything more would be made of it. She knew that when she saw the rocket flying towards him, she felt her heart almost stop, but was unsure of her actual feeling for him.

* * *

After they had both changed into their sparring costumes, a tight fitting pair of shorts and a T-shirt, they entered the sparing room and began to circle each other. Ducking and weaving, they both started approaching each other, attempting to discern each other's weaknesses. It was clear to any observer that they were both equally matched, Shepard's implants, coupled with her unusual tactics gave her an advantage in some areas, but these were counterbalanced by Garrus' speed and greater reach. Eventually, primary due to the length of the match, Shepard slipped up and Garrus pinned her. Having Garrus close enough to her than she could see every detail in his face set Shepard's pulse racing. Although she wanted to, for the sake of their friendship, it would have been all but impossible for her to deny her feelings towards him at that point. She could tell that he had feelings for her too, as he stayed on top of her, pinning her down, long after the fight was over. His eyes studying her face as hers were studying his. Leaning down, he touched his forehead against hers, at which point Shepard felt a surge of heat through her body.

Struggling to control herself, it was all she could do to bark out "Upstairs. Now."

Fuelled by their lust for each other, the pair rushed into the lift and hit the button for the top deck.

Briefly thinking of Joker and not wanting to add to his _special_ video collection, Shepard ordered "AMI, shut down all surveillance in my cabin and prevent any visitors – I don't need anyone privy to this."

"Yes, Commodore" came the reply.

Stumbling her way into her cabin, Garrus in tow, Shepard could feel her plates shifting, preparing her for what was to come. In that moment she was glad that one of the many topics she had covered with Dr. Aebutius was Turian mating.

Quickly shedding his own outfit and relieving Shepard of hers, Garrus began nuzzling at Shepard's cowl. Unable to contain himself in the presence of such an attractive Turian any longer, Garrus picked Shepard up and slammed her back into the empty fish tank Vindex had fitted in the room. In one fluid movement, he thrust forward and sheathed himself inside her, resulting in heavy passionate groans from both of them. Keeping her pinned, he began to move in and out of her, eliciting further moans of pleasure from her. Pressing his forehead against hers, he allowed her hands to gently run themselves over his torso, creating waves of pleasure wherever they touched.

Gyrating her hips in time with his motions, Shepard encouraged the primeval energy flowing through them. Exploring his body with the tips of her fingers, she traced every scar on his frame, learning more about her friend this way than though any conversation they could have possibly had. As she ran her fingers over his clan markings, groaning in ecstasy from the growing strength of his continual pounding, she lightly ignited her biotics allowing her send greater level of pleasure through his body. This served to encourage him, causing him to speed up his movements and pushing Shepard toward her climax.

As the explosion of pleasure burst through her, she arched her back and dug her talons into his, crying out in pure satisfaction. As the waves of passion running through her began to diminish, he slowed down his motions, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. Moving her to the bed, he continued to pleasure her, taking her to the brink of a second orgasm as her approached his own. As she reached her second climax, the waves of ecstasy flowing through her pushed him over the edge and with one final thrust he spewed his seed inside her.

* * *

Lying in the bed in the afterglow, and still lightly panting from their activities, Shepard turned to Garrus, mock scorn in her voice, "So, is this how you treat every lady?"

Garrus looked confused, "Huh?"

"You don't even know my name, yet here we are lying in my cabin, having _broken in_ the furniture. Not the best way to make a lady feel wanted."

Garrus tensed, afraid at how he must have appeared, and started to apologise when Shepard let out a little chuckle, "Don't worry, I'm just tugging your fringe."

At this, Garrus relaxed, but had to ask, "I know you said breakfast first, but seeing that we're already in your cabin, do you mind telling me who you actually are?"

Shepard paused for a moment before responding – it was going to be a little tricky to tell Garrus that he had just had sex with one of his best friends whom, according to the best of his knowledge, was human, and _dead_ – "Um Garrus, I know this might be a bit awkward, but you already know who I am, kinda."

At this, Garrus looked puzzled. He certainly didn't know anyone who matched up with the Turian lying next to him.

"I helped you out with a certain Salarian doctor and you constantly whined about my Mako driving skills."

A flicker of disbelief crossed his face, "Shepard?"

She gave him a smile, "Got it in one!"

Garrus lent back, staring through the skylight above him, "So you're telling me that not only did you escape death, but you came back as a Turian? _And we just had sex?_"

Shepard let out a little laugh, "Pretty much."

Garrus couldn't help but join in with Shepard's laugh, "My life is so fucking weird."

"Tell me about it."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry I'm a bit late in posting this, we've been having awful weather so journey times to and from my university have been horrific, so I've had less time to write. On the up side, it is somewhat longer than what I'd usually do, so it kinda balances out. I've also been finishing playing ME1 so that I can play through ME2 as I write to make the core missions and little details (such as the comment about Joker's arm) somewhat more accurate. Also, I'm not really sure on the line between M/MA writing, so if you think I've crossed it, please tell me and I'll tone the scene down.


	8. Shore Leave

After showering, dressing and tidying Shepard's cabin up, Garrus and Shepard grabbed some breakfast from the mess downstairs, before returning to sit on the sofas.

"No seriously, you're telling me that you're actually Commander Shepard? But you _died_, I went to your memorial service on Elysium, the whole crew did. Udina got heckled, something everyone who knew you said you'd have loved. You're honestly expecting me to believe that even though you were spaced, entered the atmosphere of a planet in nothing but basic armour and impacted the surface at several times the speed of sound, you survived and were brought back as another species?"

"Crazy as it sounds, yes. Although I was pretty much strawberry jam by the time I was recovered, the temperatures I had been exposed to preserved my brain. That, according to Galerius, combined with the metric fuckton of credits and science they threw at the project, was enough to bring me back. The change of species thing wasn't the original intention of the programme, something due to the lack of healthy tissue in someone who has just been hit by a planet apparently."

Garrus remained somewhat sceptical, "But how do I know it's really you?"

Shepard looked at him, "You can't really, and neither can I. I can recall every conversation and mission we did together on the original Normandy, but I can't tell you if that's because I'm actually her, or whether I've got some VI in my brain telling me a bunch of facts they pieced together. Hell Garrus, Joker and Chakwas believe me – I even convinced the Council and Tali – but I still haven't managed to convince myself."

Shepard started to pine, Garrus held her head against his shoulder.

"I act as though I'm in control in front of everyone, but all I want to do is curl up in my bed and hide from the world. I haven't even contacted my own mother yet because I don't know what to say – 'Hi Mum, it's your daughter, I'm not dead. Oh yeah, I'm also a Turian.' – It sounds so stupid even I struggle to believe it. My shrink thinks I'm pretty much over the whole thing now, but it's all just an act. I can't afford to spend any more downtime, the Reapers are coming and I'm supposed to be stopping them. It's not the kind of mission where you take a break unless you really have to. Lives are riding on me Garrus, if I take a personal day, how many of them will be lost?"

Garrus gave her a little smile as he began stroking her head, trying to soothe her, "Well that settles it – you're definitely Commander Shepard. You know how I know?"

Shepard gave a little shake of her head.

"Only Shepard is stupid enough to refuse to take time off just because she died. Fuck me Shepard, you had to order half the marines on the original Normandy to stay behind on Virmire. What was the first thing you did afterwards? You went around making sure everyone else was alright. Now here you are, having _died_ and you're still putting yourself at the bottom of your list of priorities."

At this Shepard gave a little smile.

"If I understood Chakwas correctly, you can't recruit your next team member until tomorrow, so I'm breaking rank and ordering you take a personal day. If I have to sit on you for the rest of the day, I will do it."

By this point, Shepard was looking closer to her normal self, or at least her normal Turian self. Giving a quick grin that almost anyone who knew her would interpret as her evil side, she looked at Garrus, feigning solemnity, "OK, just for you Garrus, but you've got to agree to do something for me first."

"What is it?"

"You've got to promise you'll do it first?"

"It's not cleaning is it?"

"After what happened when you said you'd spruce up the inside of the Mako? Hell no, I was getting soap suds off my armour for weeks."

"I'm not sure, it still sounds bad."

"You do owe me, or has someone forgotten that they shot at me when I was trying to rescue them?"

"They were concussive rounds."

"You still owe me."

Garrus sighed and gave in, "OK Shepard, I promise. Now what is it?"

She threw a door plaque at him, "Good, your office is downstairs and the last of your stuff should be arriving for it today. I gave the order before we went out and got you – Joker thought I couldn't get you to accept."

"Accept what?" he asked,

Shepard pointed at the plaque she had just thrown him, "The position as my XO of course."

Garrus looked down and there, clear as day, XO VAKARIAN was printed in block capitals.

Giving her a bit of a grin and a shake of the head he replied, "Fuck you Shepard, you know how shit I am at responsibility."

At this last word he paled dramatically, "Responsibility. Crap. This morning..."

Shepard interrupted him with a laugh, "Relax XO Vakarian, one of my implants is a military-grade hormone regulator. I doubt the Hierarchy would see me taking maternity leave a good return on their investment. They've got me so well tuned I doubt I could even get close, even if I wanted to."

Garrus returned mostly to his normal colour, with a slight blue tinge indicating he was embarrassed, "Regarding this morning Shepard, where does that leave us? Do we have a thing now? Is there even a 'we'?"

"That's the thing I love about the Turian military, you guys have no problems with fraternisation. Even if you did, I think I could always claim 'My ship, my rules' and place it under Specte authority," at this she gave a little chuckle, wondering if any other Spectres had used their 'above the law' status to do whatever the fuck they wanted, "I can't say I didn't enjoy this morning – Hell Garrus, you're probably one of the few people in this messed-up galaxy I can truly be myself around – if you want to make something out of it, I'm game. If you don't, or you were creeped out by the fact that I'm not exactly who you though I was, I understand. Either way, I won't hold it against you."

Garrus pondered for a moment, before awkwardly replying, "I'd like to see where this goes, that is if that's good for you. Although I'm not really sure what comes next, never really had time to properly date anyone. I'm not really too clear on protocol at this stage – I mean, we've already fucked each other senseless – is it good to follow that with lunch on Omega?"

Shepard shrugged, "Lunch works for me, but you're the expert here, unless you want me to have to explain this to my shrink and get her advice?"

"Oh spirits no! What should I call you though? I think people would find it a bit odd if I kept referring to you by the name of a supposedly dead human."

"Prometheia works," said Shepard, chuckling at how ridiculous her cover name sounded, "unless you think referring to me by rank sounds sexier?"

"_Prometheia_ it is then. Can we make sure my father doesn't find though? At least until he's met you and we've explained the, ah, _situation_? Even though he's been nagging me to start looking for a potential mate for years, I don't think he'd be too impressed to hear I was dating someone I'd met on Omega, even if they did look as nice as you." At this last line, he pressed his forehead against hers, and gazed into her eyes.

Shepard wanted to enjoy the moment, but couldn't help teasing him a little, "What, you mean he'd think I was a hooker?"

Garrus couldn't help himself and starting chuckling uncontrollably, "Way to ruin the moment Shepard."

Shepard, realising that there would be very little to be done that day, save preparations for extracting Mordin the following day, decided that the entire crew should be given shore leave.

"AMI, notify the crew that, save for essential duties, they have shore leave until 01-00-00 GST tomorrow morning. Please remind them that this is Omega, so tell them to remember to keep their wits about them."

* * *

A few hours later, Shepard found herself heading to a small café on Omega with Garrus. Before leaving the ship, she had worked with AMI to ensure that all evidence linking Garrus with his role as Archangel was deleted and posted fabricated reports indicating the death of Archangel on sites commonly visited by mercs on the extranet. Shepard hoped that this, along with the repainting of Garrus' armour, would ensure he would remain safe when he was on Omega. Despite Garrus' apparent safety however, Shepard was annoyed. According to AMI, pictures of her as she was passing through Afterlife to see Aria earlier had ended up on '_Omega's Hottest!'_– an extranet site which, in her opinion, was dedicated to allowing the many sleazy residents on Omega talk about which residents on the station they most wanted sex with. She hadn't told Garrus, but the number of comments passed as she walked past made her swear to wear something that offered her slightly more anonymity the next time she went out on the station and ordered the Turian equivalent of a hoodie whilst waiting for Garrus to order for both of them.

Settling down at the table with their meals, Shepard had to ask, "So, you said Udina got heckled at my memorial. How was it after I, um, left? You mentioned that the Council pretty much had me declared as mad."

Garrus gave her a quick smile, "Well you know that I went back to C-Sec and applied for Spectre training – your name on the paperwork certainly helped speed that up. The day before your accident, the paperwork had come through that would have placed me for training under an existing Spectre. I was actually filling it in over my lunch break the next day when the news came in. I knew it was bad when I was called into Councillor Anderson's officer and your mother was already there..."

* * *

_Garrus walked into Anderson's office, wondering what reason the Councillor had for calling him during his lunch break. He was slightly surprised to see another Alliance officer in the office._

_Councillor Anderson stood to welcome him in, offering a seat by his desk. "Garrus, this is Hannah Shepard, Jane's mother and current XO of SSV Einstein. Captain Shepard, this is Garrus Vakarian, one of your daughter's team that took down Saren."_

_Garrus felt slightly awkward as he shook hands with her, "Pleasure to meet you ma'am."_

"_Likewise, Jane spoke very highly of you."_

_That surprised him, he was unaware the Shepard had even told her mother anything about their mission together._

_Anderson looked exceptionally awkward, "Captain, Garrus, I wish that I didn't have to be here for this, but I insisted, thinking it was better for you to hear this from someone who knew her. We're still piecing the evidence together but it appears that Normandy came under attack from an unknown vessel shortly after 04-00-00 GST this morning. After sustaining heavy damage, Normandy's distress beacon was launched and Shepard gave the general evac order. Shepard stayed behind to ensure any remaining crew safely left the ship."_

_Garrus paled, "Please tell me she's alright!"_

_Anderson looked even worse at that question, "Joker was the last living crew member on the ship and Shepard successfully got reached him. As she was getting him into the bridge evac pod, Normandy took another hit that detonated Normandy's fuel cells. During the blast the pod was launched and Shepard – fuck, I don't know how to say this – and Shepard was throw out through a hole in the skin of the ship."_

_At this Shepard's mother, voice on the verge of cracking, after the fatal question, "My daughter Councillor, she made it, right? I know she wasn't the biggest fan of Alliance regulations, but she would have been wearing full breather gear if the hull had been breached. All you have to do is track her suit transponder."_

_Anderson looked at the two of them and gave a sad shake of his head, "The last of the data transmitted by her suit indicated a critical breach in the envirosystems as a result of the blast. I'm sorry but..."_

_Hannah Shepard slammed her hand down on the desk and, in a voice the reminded Garrus of her daughter, demanded, "No, my daughter can't be dead. She just can't."_

_At this point, Garrus remember the moments in the Council chamber immediately after the destruction of Sovereign, trying to keep his voice strong for the sake of Hannah, he pointed out "She's got out of tighter spots before, you know what she's like – always surviving the damned near impossible."_

_Anderson shook his head, "I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do. The best I can offer is to tell you that she wouldn't have suffered at the end and she died saving her crew, something she would have insisted upon."_

_At this, Hannah broke down and starting wailing. Remembering his C-Sec training, he put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but couldn't really focus – Shepard, dead, it was impossible._

_When Shepard's mother had regained some of her composure, Anderson continued, slightly embarrassed at how impersonal what he had to say was going to sound, "I know this is hard for you, but we already have had to set in motion plans for a memorial service. The most promising site looks to be Elysium, partially due to your daughter's role there during the Blitz and the level of accessibility it offers for other species. We also planning on broadcasting it live throughout Council space and through the extranet."_

_Hannah nodded, "I think she would have wanted Elysium."_

"_I'm afraid that, where it looks as though it will be a bit of a media event, there will be several notable dignitaries that will want to speak." Anderson looked very uncomfortable as he delivered the next piece of news, "I'm also sorry to tell you but due to the manner of her death, we will not be able to return your daughter's body to you. A search for it would require a great number of men and ships; something that Arcturus Station believes is not feasible."_

_Nodding, Hannah tried to improve the mood by sputtering, her voice still full of tears, "She'd probably prefer not to be there – she always hated listening to speeches."_

_Garrus was slightly shocked at the casual way that the captain had reacted to being given the news, but glancing at her face, he realised that it must be a human thing – trying to present a social front, even if you were dying inside, as he was now._

_Anderson turned to Garrus, "We're going to be opening the event to anyone who wishes to attend, but they'll be priority seating for those who knew her best, her team on Normandy and a few friends from her youth that she stayed in contact with."_

* * *

"Wow" said Shepard, "that must have put a real dampener on your day."

Garrus gave a slight smile, "Tell me about it! I almost started blaming myself – I thought 'if I were there, could I have done anything?'"

Shepard shook her head, "The best case that would have happened would have been me ordering you to leave. It would have still ended up with the same result. It was nobody's fault Garrus, these things just happen."

"I know Shepard. Just tell me one thing, was Anderson right? Did you suffer?"

Thinking back to how she had been gripped by mind-numbing terror in those last few moments, she turned aware, not wanting Garrus to see her face, "I can't remember."

Garrus could tell she was lying from her body language, but didn't press the issue, "If you think that day was bad, wait until I tell you about the memorial..."

* * *

_Garrus had been sat at the memorial service for several hours and, by this point was fed up of listening to politician's speeches about how amazing Shepard was and how much smaller the galaxy was without her. None of them seemed to actually have any knowledge of Shepard and, if he was to hazard a guess, he'd say that most of the ceremony had been organised by someone who had just been handed her personnel file and told to plan a service. The plaza they were dedicating to her with fairly lifeless, besides a few trees and a fountain, there was no life in the area whatsoever. Surrounded as it was on all sides by expensive clothing shops, the sort that Shepard would never have been seen dead in, Garrus wondered whether this service was only really occurring out of obligation to recognise the first human Spectre._

_He was also starting to get somewhat frustrated. Most speeches made some reference to her talk of the Reapers as being a result of misinformation she had received. However, it was Ambassador Udina's closing remarks that made those that knew Shepard really pissed off._

"_...although all of the Council races, perhaps even every race in the galaxy, owe Commander Shepard a great debt for stopping Saren and the Geth, it is unfortunate that she was so taken in by Saren's lies about a mythological race of starships, possible her mind had been addled after her explosion to a Prothean becon on Eden Prime. Whatever the reason I, along with many of you, cannot help but wonder, if she had spent less time indulging the fantasies of a deluded mind, would she have maintained the focus necessary to evade the attack on Normandy? We must always remember that the first priority of an Alliance crewman is to their ship, not to some foolish daydreams. As we..."_

"_BULLSHIT!" came a loud voice from the crowd, "That's complete bullshit, and you know it!"_

_Garrus looked over, an Alliance crewmember he vaguely remembered from Normandy was drunkenly staggering towards the stage._

"_If you're scolding her for not playing politician, why don't you tell the people here what would have happened if she'd played politician after we returned from Horizon? That's right, because it makes you look like a fucking shithead."_

_The ambassador knew where this was going and tried to signal for someone to stop him._

"_Basically, the ambassador here, locked down the ship to try and stop us finishing what we'd started against Saren. Sure, the Council didn't want us to go, but that's the whole fucking point of the Spectres, unless directly ordered, they can pretty fuck do whatever the fuck they want as long as the ends justify the means. Do you know what would have happened if we hadn't broken out of the lockdown? No mass relay control, boom, no Alliance fleet to save the Destiny Ascension, boom, Council dead, boom, Citadel overrun by Geth, boom, do I fucking need to continue?"_

_At this point he gestured wildly at the dignitaries that had attended, "None of you fuckers knew Shepard, none of you fuckers care about her, you've probably all got your heads so far up your fucking arses that you're probably secretly glad she's dead." He turned back to the crowd, "And you fuckers just sit there and say nothing? Shame on you. Shame on all of you."_

_With this he fell to the floor, drunk, and security hauled him away._

* * *

Shepard let out a laugh, "I bet Udina didn't like that, especially seeing that it was being broadcast live."

Garrus shook his head, "I'd bet, it wasn't soon afterwards that he got transferred to be Anderson's assistant. Bet he hated that even more!"

Shepard looked at her omnitool and realised that they'd been at the café for several hours just talking. "Come on Garrus, we're going for drinks."

Walking into the lower level of Afterlife, Shepard ordered drinks for her and Garrus. Downing hers in one she felt a tightening in her throat and realised something was wrong. Smashing Garrus' drink out of his hand, she managed to croak out "Poison!" before collapsing to the floor.

As she woke, she found herself in one of the alleyways behind Afterlife with a very concerned looking Garrus leaning over her.

"I'm so sorry She-Prometheia. I should have thought – the bartender you spoke to, was he Batarian?"

Shepard gave a little nod, "Spirits, I feel like complete shit right now."

"I'm not surprised, the Batarian bartender on the lower floor of afterlife – he kinda hates anyone associated with the Hierarchy and well..." he trailed off, indicating her armour.

"Fuck!"

"You're very lucky to be alive; I'm guessing that's your implants at work!"

Shepard staggered to her feet, "I think it's time Mr. Batarian got a little taste of his own medicine."

She stormed into the club and headed over to the same bartender.

"Hey, can I get the same as last time? I really enjoyed the kick it gave me."

Garrus found the casual way Shepard approached the situation somewhat amusing.

The Batarian pulled out a bottle and starting pouring some liquid into a glass, "Sure thing, sweetheart! Wait a minute, shouldn't you be..."

"Dead? Yeah, I get that a lot. _With good reason too!_"

Garrus couldn't help but hold back a chuckle as he realised the subharmonics were meant for him to hear.

Shepard continued, "Look mate, I don't know what your problem is, but as I see it, poisoning anyone you see in a Turian military uniform is going to lead to trouble. Trust me, one of these days someone who isn't as nice as me will..."

Shepard stopped suddenly, noticing the small hole in the middle of the Batarian's forehead. Turning around she saw another Turian drunkenly stowing a silenced pistol.

"You said it yourself lady, it led to trouble. Name's Ogrinn, former 12th Platoon. _Now tell me, what's a hot little thing like you doing at Afterlife?_"

Shepard covered a chortle at the obvious way he was trying to hit on her, "Nice to meet you Ogrinn. _I'm here with my date, that's him just over there waiting for me._"

Ogrinn looked embarrassed and shuffled off as Shepard returned to Garrus.

As Shepard approached, Garrus gave her a glance, "Did that guy just hit on you?"

Shepard gave him a little smile, pleased at how protective he was being of her, "Is someone feeling a little worried? I came here with _you_ Garrus, I want to be here with _you_. I'm not going to go running off with some random stranger, and anyway, did you see what he was wearing? That stupid red hat thing reminded me too much of Saren. Besides, I prefer blue anyway."

At these words Garrus gave Shepard a smile back and gently nuzzled her neck.

"Now come on Vakarian, let's head upstairs, I've got some information that Aria will probably want to see and as we're going to be here for a while longer, I'd like to get us a private table and a couple of bottles of something good on the house."

* * *

Several hours later, both Garrus and Shepard were glad that they'd managed to persuade Aria into giving them a table. With the number of drinks they'd gone through, both of them had trouble walking in a straight line and had been steadily edging closer together as the evening progressed and were now telling stories from their pasts.

"OK, how about this one, when I attended a modified version of Turian boot camp a couple of weeks back, some idiot insulted me for being barefaced."

Garrus winced, pitying the poor cadet if Shepard knew how bad the insult actually was, "Did you realise how rude that sort of insult is?"

Shepard gave her evil smile, "Yep, and let's just say he won't be pissing off any biotics again. He ended up floating around a singularity whilst I insulted his family."

Garrus gave a short laugh, "You really did that? You're so badass."

"What did you expect, I'm Commander She-," she stopped herself just in time, "Well, you know who I am. _In more ways than one!_"

"I'll drink to that, doing badass things for the sake of the galaxy!"

Shepard leant to the side, resting her head on Garrus' shoulder, "I'm so glad we decided to do this."

Garrus put his arm around her, "Me too, I'm also kinda glad that Vindex brought you back as a Turian."

"What do you mean?"

Garrus took a deep breath, he hadn't really meant to add the last part, but the alcohol was loosening his tongue, "Well, do you remember on the old Normandy, you used to come to see me a lot. Well I really enjoyed your visits and would have liked to have spent more time with you, but it'd have been somewhat awkward with the whole cross-species thing. Now we can do things together and nobody thinks it's weird."

Shepard smiled, "I'm glad too, it's been really nice having you around. Before, I felt as though we couldn't really get to know each other without Ashley or someone passing comment."

Looking at his omnitool, Garrus realised that they should probably make a move, else they'd not be rested enough to get Mordin the following day.

"Come on Prometheia, let's get you back to the ship. You to get ready to go to bed if we're going into the slums tomorrow."

"I'll go, but only if you sleep next to me – that bed feels too empty when I'm alone."

"Only if I get to use your shower in the morning."

"Deal!"

* * *

As Shepard felt Garrus finish twitching inside her and her own orgasm fade, she leant down and touched her forehead against his.

She turned her head to the side and whispered in his ear, "So, glad you decided to stay the night?"

"Definitely."

Shepard slowly ran her hand up his body, "You going to finish the story you started earlier? About how you went from a big-shot C-Sec officer and Spectre candidate to a lonely vigilante on Omega?"

A flash of pain shot through Garrus' eyes, which Shepard countered by stroking his fringe.

"I suppose you should know. I'm not really proud about what I did, but I was trying to help, and I think I did. I should warn you though Shepard, most of what happens behind the scenes on Omega is dark, really fucking dark."

Shepard continued to stroke his fringe, "I can handle dark Garrus. You're talking to someone who fucking died. I think I can handle dark."

Garrus gave a little nod, but Shepard could see that he was still unsure whether to tell the story.

"Garrus, I promise I won't judge you, I just need to know."

"OK, Shepard. Do you remember what I said about Udina's speech at your memorial service? Well it wasn't long until the Council and C-Sec started claiming that your warnings of the Reapers were nothing more than a delusion..."

* * *

"_What do you mean 'That's the Council's official position'? I was there with Shepard, I spoke to Sovereign, there was no fucking was that thing was Geth."_

"_I'm sorry Garrus, that's the orders that have been passed down. Any persons asking about the Reapers should be informed that the attack on the Citadel was the result of the Geth and the existence of the Reapers was a rumour that resulted from the reports of a former Council Spectre who was suffering from severe mental issues in the aftermath of exposure to an advanced Prothean artefact."_

"_No disrespect Captain, but that's utter bullshit."_

"_It's over my head Garrus, there's nothing I can do. Now what's happening regarding this red sand smuggler you were tracking?"_

"_I've found the guy. If I bring him in, I think I might be able to get the name of his dealer out of him."_

"_That's brilliant Garrus, hand over the evidence and I'll issue a warrant."_

_Garrus looked uncomfortable._

"_You do __**have**__ evidence don't you Garrus?"_

"_I know it's him Captain. Just let me bring him in and I'll prove it."_

"_I'm sorry Garrus, that's not how it works. I can't issue you with a warrant until I've got some form of evidence, feelings aren't enough."_

_Garrus huffed and stormed out of the C-Sec captain's office._

* * *

_**ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION #2183-312-19-01-14-947104**_

_**FROM:**__ GarrusVakarian_

_**TO: **__CSECadmin_

_**SUBJECT: **__Resignation_

_**MESSAGE:**__ Please take this communication as notice of my immediate resignation. Garrus Vakarian._

* * *

"_So," Garrus said, leaning over the Batarian tied to his chair in his apartment, "I've heard that somebody has been dealing in red sand."_

"_You can't do this to me. You're C-Sec. I have rights."_

_Garrus smiled and cued up the message he'd sent earlier on his omnitool, "Not anymore. So, you going to talk or are the Keepers going to be depositing you into the recycling vats earlier than you expected?"_

"_I won't tell you anything! Bastard!"_

_Garrus punched the smuggler in the stomach, "It's not you I want, I'm after your supplier. Think carefully how you answer though, or I might have to start taking eyes."_

_The Batarian paled, the loss of an eye to a Batarian was a deep insult to their dignity. "Fine. I get my shit from Omega, lots of gangs there, lots of drugs. My contacts give me I time and a place, I pick the shit up, then smuggle the sand onto the Citadel."_

_Garrus smiled as he messaged the video of the confession to his supervisor, "Perfect."_

_Leaving the smuggler still tied to his chair, Garrus packed up his few possessions, his guns and his armour, before heading out to the docks, with a freshly bought ticket to Omega booked in his name._

* * *

_Arriving on Omega, he headed towards the marketplaces, intending on upgrading the __HMWSR-X sniper rifle Shepard had got him when they had been hunting Saren to be compatible with the new ejectable heatsinks that were slowly becoming the galactic standard. As he was browsing down a quieter side street, he heard two pleading human voices. Turning the corner, he saw an elderly couple being held at gunpoint by a Vorcha who was demanding their credit chits._

_Letting his anger that had been accumulating over the prior few weeks surface, Garrus stormed up behind the Vorcha, grabbing him by the neck and disarming him. Pulling out his own pistol, he pointed it at the unfortunate mugger._

"_I'm feeling generous, so I'll give you five seconds before I pull this trigger and the only memory of you is a splatter on the wall and a foul stench."_

_The Vorcha turned and started heading away, "I go Turian, see I go."_

"_You'd better, or you'll be seeing why Spectre-grade weaponry is so fucking expensive."_

_Keeping his eye on the rapidly retreating Vorcha, Garrus turned to the human couple standing next to him with a look of hero worship on their faces._

_The woman grasped him by his hand, "Thank you stranger. We've been saving for years to buy our own place and were on our way to finalise the paperwork and pay the costs when that scavenger attacked us. If you hadn't come along and intervened, we'd have lost everything. There's not many on Omega that would help people like us – you're a real-life angel."_

_The gentleman also added his thanks, "My wife is right, there's nobody on Omega that stands up to the criminals, so if we'd lost everything, I doubt anyone would have cared." He pointed to the pistol in Garrus' hand, "I heard you mention that was a Spectre grade weapon, not many people I know are allowed to buy them, even less can afford them. I imagine whoever gave that to you was very special."_

_Garrus thought of Shepard, dying alone and with nobody to help her and vowed to honour her memory, "That they were. Now why don't you let me accompany you to your destination? That way I know you'll be safe."_

"_Thank you sir, that's very generous of you."_

* * *

_Having safely seen the couple to their destination, Garrus completed his shopping and headed into Afterlife to get some drinks. Heading down to the lower level, he heard the cries of someone being repeatedly beaten. Following the sounds he came across a Turian being heavily beaten by a Krogan wearing Blood Pack armour._

_Remembering his talks with Wrex aboard Normandy, he quickly disabled the Krogan with a series of attacks on exposed nerve clusters that left him twitching on the floor._

_Offering a hand to the Turian coughing blood on floor, he introduced himself, "Name's Vakarian, Garrus Vakarian. I've got some medigel if you need it."_

_The other Turian spat out a mouthful of blood before taking Garrus' hand, "Lantar Sidonis. Good to meet you. I'd save the medigel until we're dealt with them all though."_

_Turning around, Garrus realised that Sidonis was right, several Vorcha sporting the same armour were entering the room._

"_Time for a little pest control!" he quipped, pulling out his pistol._

_Several minutes later, and surrounded by dead or dying Vorcha, Garrus holstered his pistol._

_He turned to Sidonis who, despite the injuries the Krogan had inflicted, had handled himself well. "I wish there was someone who would sort this criminals out."_

_Sidonis raised a brow plate, "I might have an idea. You up for a drink? – I think I owe you one for dealing with that Krogan."_

* * *

_Over a year later, Garrus was feeling good. He'd acquired a dedicated team and from what he could tell they'd been making real progress against the gangs on Omega. Almost every criminal had heard of them, and almost every criminal feared them. He and his team were even starting to make inroads into the parts of the station that had been previously off-limits and were even threatening gang leaders in their own homes._

_On his way back to their base, he felt his omnitool buzz, indicating an incoming message:_

* * *

_**ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION #2185-002-02-78-32-381047**_

_**FROM:**__Nephilim_

_**TO: **__Archangel_

_**SUBJECT: **__Blood Back: Kenzo District_

_**MESSAGE:**__ G. I've seen evidence that the Blood Pack are running a weapons smuggling operation from the Kenzo District. Do you want to check it out? I'll meet you at 03-50-00 GST in the market at the district entrance. It's not a big set-up so you can let the rest of the team rest up. S._

* * *

_Garrus was surprised by the communication, he hadn't heard from Sidonis for several days and was on the verge of going to look for him. Realising that the wasn't enough time to return to their base before he had to meet Sidonis, he slowly made his way towards the rendezvous, stopping in a few shops along the way to buy some recently released upgrades for his weapon collection._

_After waiting where Sidonis requested for over an hour, Garrus was getting worried. He had already checked his omnitool three times to confirm the time and location. He was on the verge of checking it again when it indicated he had another message._

"_Thank fuck for that, I was starting to panic"_

_Looking down to read the message he realised something was very wrong. Running to the nearest store, he grabbed as much ammo as possible before hailing a transport back to his base. For the entire journey back, he kept glancing down at the message, wondering what the fuck had gone wrong._

* * *

_**ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION #2185-002-02-78-32-381047**_

_**FROM:**__Cambion_

_**TO: **__Archangel_

_**SUBJECT: **__Help_

_**MESSAGE:**__ Where the fuck are you? Base being attacked by Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack. They're got a motherfucking gunship and they've managed to smuggle bombs into our storage rooms right under our fucking noses. No sign of Sidonis, I'm guessing the fuckers got him already._

* * *

_Several days later, Garrus knew the end for him was in sight. He'd almost run out of thermal clips and his supply of medigel had all but run out._

_In between the attacks by the merc groups, he had covered the bodies of his former team with whatever he could find and had vowed revenge for every last one of them. He had also found out that Sidonis had transferred all the credits he had available out of his accounts __**after**__ the attack on the base, marking him as a traitor._

_Looking around he realised that he had very little time left, so placed a call to his father to ask forgiveness for his failures._

"_Vakarian household, Gaius speaking."_

_Garrus gave a slight sigh, speaking to his father always rifled him, but he tried to keep his calm to ensure his father's last memory of his wasn't as a whining child. "Hi dad, it's Garrus."_

"_Garrus? What are you doing calling?"_

"_Nothing much, just been practicing my aim for a couple of days and looking for some tips."_

"_A couple of days?! I'm surprised you're still hitting anyway near the targets. Take some rest, you'll be better in the morning."_

_Garrus gave a weary sounding sigh, "Not the right sort of targets for that dad, these really mean you've got to stay alert."_

_Gaius paused for a moment as he realised what Garrus was saying, "I see. I'm guessing there's nobody else on the range?"_

_Garrus guiltily looked at the bodies of his team, "There was, but they've all gone now."_

"_Any emergency exits?"_

"_I had to lock them down to reduce the number of targets I was watching at once."_

"_I see."_

_Garrus took a deep breath, "Look dad, I just called to say I'm sorry. I realise I haven't been a good Turian or a good son. I failed you dad."_

"_You didn't fail me son, you just did things differently. That's not always a bad thing. Whatever happens Garrus, I'm your father – I'll always be proud of you, even if I don't know it. You hear me?"_

"_Yes dad, thanks."_

"_Now go finish your target practice, we'll talk more when you come home."_

_Garrus looked out across the bridge, it looked as though the latest wave had started._

"_Not sure if I'm going to make it home. Give mum and Sol my best, won't you?"_

"_Of course son."_

_Garrus took out a few poorly equipped mercs when he suddenly spotted Hierarchy military rankings on the latest three freelancers that had just cleared the barricade and were advancing across the bridge. Thinking they were deserters, Garrus shot down the middle soldier's shields and was lining up the kill shot when they started attacking the mercs from behind with a combination of biotic abilities and regular weapons, marking them out as different whilst generating mass confusion amongst the other freelancers on the bridge._

"_Actually, scratch that. It looks as though someone else is going to be joining the party."_

"_Good luck Garrus."_

"_Bye dad."_

* * *

Garrus looked up at Shepard trying to gauge her reaction when she gently punched him in the arm.

"I knew you were lying!"

Garrus looked slightly confused at this, "About what?"

"Concussive rounds, my arse! You don't fire concussive rounds then line up a kill shot."

"Ah, yeah. Sorry about that, I wasn't really expecting to be rescued by the recently un-deceased."

"Don't worry about it. You'd been through a lot Garrus, and I kind of feel it's my fault."

Garrus looked shocked at this, "Why would you think that? If it's anyone's fault it's mine."

Shepard nuzzled his neck, "You did everything I would have done, so I can't place any blame on you for what happened to you on Omega. However, if I hadn't died, none of that would have happened."

Garrus thought for a moment, whilst it was technically true, he didn't want to add to the burdens Shepard carried. Realising he knew exactly what to say to make her forget the issue, he gave a short laugh, "Shepard, if you hadn't died we'd both either be still awkwardly hanging around each other not expressing our true feelings, or I'd be making some abysmal jokes about trying to make a interspecies relationship work."

Shepard couldn't help but give a grin at his comment, "I suppose you're right. This way I've got a big squishy Turian to keep me warm at night."

Garrus lifted his head, touching their forehead together again, "Speaking of which..."

"Yeah, yeah Garrus. Speaking of which we should really be getting some sleep."

Rolling off Garrus, she moved into a more comfortable position and rested her head on his chest.

"I'm you ever want to talk more about what happened, I'm here. That's what you do in a relationship."

"I'll remember that Shepard. Good night."

"Good night Garrus."

* * *

**A/N: **In case you can't guess I haven't read any of the ME Comics except for vague descriptions on the interwebs, so apologies for changing canon where I didn't originally intend to. Also, I've decided to downgrade the schedule to once a week, but in return you'll get longer chapters. If I decide to post a short(er) chapter, I'll try and post another chapter that week as well.


	9. Doctors

Waking the next morning, Shepard quickly showered and changed before heading downstairs to see Dr. Chakwas, leaving Garrus to sleep for a little longer.

Walking into her lab, Shepard saw the woman already hard at work, preparing for the day ahead.

"Hey Karin."

Dr. Chakwas looked up startled, "Oh, it you Commander, you shocked me for a minute then."

"Just wondering how the immunoboosters are coming along for the mission today."

Chakwas nervously smiled, "I've got a good supply for whoever you decide to take, but there was a slight problem with yours."

Shepard gave a slight chuckle, "Define slight."

Chakwas became slightly flustered, "Because of the mixed chirality of the amino acids in your tissues – basically due to the mixing of levo and dextro DNA, the booster could cause some severe side effects if you were to take it."

"What are my options?"

"Well the first is the simplest, you don't go, but I think you agreeing to that is about as likely as finding out that Sovereign just wanted to learn ballet. The second is you take the jab, which I don't recommend at all due to the possible consequences. The third is you don't take the jab and hope that your Salarian friend has a treatment for you when you get there."

"Looks like it's going to be option three."

"I thought you'd say that."

"Listen doc, I know this is going to sound a bit weird, but could you set me up with a fake jab. Garrus is coming with me and I don't want him to worry, so could you give me an injection of coloured saline or something."

Chakwas gave a knowing smile, "Certainly Commander."

* * *

Having decided that she didn't want to risk anyone who wouldn't volunteer, Shepard approached the slums where Dr. Solus was working with only Garrus by her side. She heard a human arguing with the Turian guarding the entrance. Realising that she would have to persuade him into letting them, she put on her best Commander voice.

"You saying we can't go in?"

The Turian guard looked at her, "Exactly, although why you'd want to go into an area that would kill you is beyond me."

"There's a Salarian named Mordin Solus in the slums. I've got to get in there to find him."

"The doctor? That crazy bastard opened a clinic in the district a few months ago. The Blue Suns weren't too happy when he moved in. I heard Mordin is trying to deal with the plague, I wish him luck, but the area's still looked down. Our orders are to wait until either the plague or the Blue Suns kill everyone, then go in and clean up."

"Listen, you're stuck here until this quarantine is over, that could take weeks! What you really need is to get this problem solved right now, that's what I do – solve problems. Let me in and I'll get this district straightened out."

"You think you can fix this, why not? The quarantine is more to keep infected people in anyway; I'll radio ahead and tell them you're coming in."

The human he had been arguing with earlier overhead this, "Wait, you're stopping me from going in but not them? You son of a bitch!"

"You don't look like you could wipe out an army single-handed lady, get lost."

Turning back to Shepard, he patted him gun, making a point, "Look, you two want to go into a district overrun by a plague that'll wipe you out, I won't stop you. Just be warned, if you've got the plague, we can't let you out, so I'll have to shoot you."

Shepard opened her pack, revealing the syringes that Chakwas had prepared for them, "That won't be the case, we've taken precautions."

Carefully injecting Garrus with the prepared immunobooster and herself with the vial of saline, they secured their helmets and entered Gozu district.

* * *

Shortly after talking to an infected Batarian and giving him medigel, Shepard noticed a slight irritation in her throat. So as not to alarm Garrus, she sent him into a nearby apartment to check for survivors, before ducking behind a crate and coughing repeatedly.

As they moved through the district, she kept finding reasons for Garrus to move slightly ahead or out of sight every time she felt a coughing fit starting. However, as they were fighting Vorcha on the final approach to the clinic, she felt a fit coming on that was worse than before. Noticing that Garrus was distracted finishing off the last of the enemies, she took off her helmet before letting out a very bad sequence of heavy coughs. As she removed her hand from in front of her mouth, she noticed it was covered in a lot of blue blood. Looking up for Garrus, she weakly sputtered out his name, before collapsing, blood trickling out between her lips.

As Garrus finished taking down the last of the Vorcha, he stood up and smiled, "That was a good fight, Shepard!"

When he didn't get a response, he looked around, confused, "Shepard?"

Still no response.

As he moved over to where he last saw her, he saw a trickle of blue blood running out from under a nearby pile of crates.

The panic started to creep into his voice as he went to move around them, "Shepard?"

As the other side of the crates came into view, he sprinted forward as he spotted her lying there in a rapidly growing pool of her own blood.

Picking her up in his arms, he started moving as quickly as he could towards the clinic entrance, her breathes, sounding like a death rattle, urging him onwards.

As he burst through the doors of the clinic, the receptionist took one look at the amount of blood running from Shepard's mouth before pointing him towards a treatment room and putting out a call for medical personnel to follow.

Within moments of arriving in the clinic, Shepard was on a table surrounded by a team of volunteer doctors and nurses.

The most senior looking one yelled at the nurse by the medical cabinet, "Give me 5ccs of Bupirol and 15ccs of Boxytilate. That's the standard treatment in cases as bad as this."

The nurse ran over with the syringe and prepared to inject it into Shepard's neck.

An authoritative voice came from the door, "Wait!"

The nurse looked up, confused, "Professor Solus, what is it?"

"Must always scan patient first. Never assume anything. Must account for minute variations. Something can always be different."

"Yes Professor"

The nurse moved out of the way, giving Mordin access to Shepard, who started scanning her with his omnitool.

"Interesting readings. Patient not completely Turian. Significant presence of levo-DNA. Boxytilate would have killed her. Stopped her heart." He sniffed, "Replace with Cyclomoxytilate."

As Mordin moved away, Garrus intercepted him, "Is she going to be alright?"

"She will be fine. Glad I stepped in."

Mordin pulled out his omnitool and scanned Garrus, "Hmm, immunobooster given. Not the way I would have done it. Impressive immunity though. Must have got it from good doctor."

Garrus looked at Mordin, slightly confused, he indicated towards Shepard, "She had one too – I saw her take it, so why is she sick?"

"No, no, no. Your mate never had one. Standard methods incompatible with her physiology. Any doctor would have told her that."

"We're not mates doctor; we've only just started going out together."

"Emotional response indicates different. Only conclusion: You haven't told her."

"Haven't told her what?"

"Your true feelings. Makes no sense not to tell her. Unless," he narrowed his eyes at Garrus, "scared of rejection?"

Garrus shifted uncomfortably.

"Fear understandable, but unnecessary. Her willingness to fake immunity shows worry. Logical conclusion: She feels the same about you."

Garrus looked up at this, he knew Shepard had said she liked him when they started their relationship, but he didn't realise she had felt that way.

"Come find me when _friend_ wakes. Interested to know why you are both here."

* * *

Shepard woke up less than an hour later, thanks to a combination of Mordin's treatment and her cybernetics, feeling as though she had an elephant stomping around in her head. Looking around, she saw Garrus waiting outside for her.

"Look Garrus, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the jabs, there was nothing I could do about it and I was afraid you'd worry about me."

"So instead you thought you'd let me worry when I found you in a pool of your own blood?"

Shepard looked down, embarrassed at the amount of worrying she had put him through, "It wasn't supposed to end up that way. The idea was to get to the clinic, then ask Mordin to make me up some form of vaccine. If he's as smart as everyone thinks his is that wouldn't have been a problem."

"I still wish you'd told me. Do you realise how worried I was when I saw that much blood?"

"I'm sorry Garrus; I never thought it would affect me that badly. Now, we should probably go find Mordin."

"He said he wanted to speak to us anyway, so that should make everything a bit easier."

Walking through the clinic they came across Mordin.

As they approached him he looked up at stared at them, "Ah, glad to see you're alright. Intrigued to know why you came. Partner had vaccine. Indicates you knew of plague. Decided to come anyway. Must be here for important mission. Must be here to get me. Need to know who I am dealing with. Part of Hierarchy. Alliance too. Surprised to see Spectre on Omega. Mixed DNA unheard of. Experimental treatment? Very few organisations that advanced. Alliance not knowledgeable enough about Turian anatomy. Turian special forces then. Science division not specialised enough." He sniffed, "You're with Vindex."

Shepard was surprised, she knew from his file that Mordin was smart and well-connected, but from what she'd been told, the existence of Vindex was a very well kept secret

"You're correct professor. We need your help on a mission."

"Not surprising. Vindex have a habit of recruiting the best. Unaware I was on lists, but not shocked. Missions are usually of Hierarchal importance. Avoidance of Blackwatch interesting. Suggests information behind mission unknown to usual military. Armament suggests powerful enemies. Existence of enemy must be worrying, but classified. Hiding an enemy that powerful? Impossible. Rumours must exist. Cover-up likely. Only one possibility. Reapers."

Shepard raised an eyeplate at Garrus "_He's good, he got that we're after the Reapers with nothing more than basic medical data and my rank._"

She turned to Mordin and nodded, "Not everyone sticks to the official story, which is where we come in. Human colonists are being abducted by Collectors and we need your help to combat the threat."

"Impossible! Needed at clinic. Plague victims need help. However, goals might be similar. Collectors have the technology to do this. Hmmm. Cure has been synthesised. Needs to be released into ventilation systems. Could not do it myself. Needed at clinic. Insight needed in treatments – Someone else might get it wrong! Military personnel could deal with Vorcha. Could release cure. No plague. No commitments. Could leave Omega. Mission sounds dangerous. Love the excitement. Haven't felt the same since I left the STG. Miss big missions."

Shepard waited until he finished. "So you're saying that if we get this cure into the environmental systems, you'll join us?"

"Certainly Commodore. One last thing. My assistant, Daniel. He left the clinic to find the sick. Wandered into Vorcha territory. If you spot him..."

Mordin trailed off, so Shepard finished, trying to sound as hopeful as she could, "I'll send him back, don't worry!"

"Thank you. Good luck!"

* * *

Having managed to release the cure into the air supply, eradicating pretty much every Vorcha in that particular ward of the station and rescuing Mordin's assistant from some pissed off Batarians, Shepard and Garrus started to head back to the clinic.

Noticing he had been somewhat distant since they had left the clinic, she tapped Garrus on the shoulder, "What you thinking about?"

Garrus shock his head, clearly breaking off a though, "Huh?"

"I said what you thinking about?"

Although he had been thinking about what Mordin had said about him and Shepard, he didn't want to have that conversation yet, so shrugged nonchalantly, "Nothing really, just thinking."

Shepard could tell it was unlikely that he would be this distracted over nothing, she turned to him and started to apologise, "Look Garrus, if this is about entering the plague zone when I wasn't immune, I know it was a stupid decision, but..."

Garrus waved her off, "That's not it, I don't agree with it, but I understand why you did it."

"Then what is it?"

"As I said, it's nothing."

Shepard knew how stubborn Garrus could be when he wanted to be, so gave a little huff, "OK then Mr. Secretive, be that way."

Garrus gave a sigh, "It really is nothing, stop worrying Prometheia!"

Shepard gave a brief smile at that, she was still getting used to people calling her by her new name.

"Anyway, we're back at Mordin's clinic now. Can we go grab him then get the fuck off this rock?"

* * *

Heading back to Normandy, Garrus made his way to his office, wanting some time to himself to reflect on Mordin's comments and decide where he wanted his relationship with Shepard to go.

Although they hadn't really spent much time together in a purely social environment, Garrus had spent enough time with Shepard on missions that neither of them had to speak whilst on the battlefield, they instinctively moved as a pair, flowing gracefully around each other and protecting one another's weak points. He was happy to take their relationship slowly, but in the light of what Mordin had said when Shepard was unconscious, he started to realise that he cared for Shepard on a deeper level than you would expect for someone he'd just started having a relationship with and based on Mordin's observations, Shepard felt similarly. This was what worried him – if Shepard felt that their relationship was deeper than they were treating it, would she appreciate him trying to move it to the next level, or would she feel as though he was pushing it too far too quickly? He felt that if he didn't do anything, Shepard might realise that she was more into the relationship than he was and might start boring of the relationship.

Whilst he was scared of losing Shepard due to her reaction, he was more scared of losing her due to his inaction. He therefore decided that he would have to speak to her as soon as he could to see whether Mordin's observations did indicate what he had thought it had, and what their next steps should be.

* * *

**ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION DRAFT**

**FROM:** -ADDRESS CLASSIFIED-

**TO: **HannahShepard

**SUBJECT: **(Blank)

**MESSAGE:** Ask Hackett about what he saw on Nanus.

* * *

Shepard looked at her terminal, staring hard at the message she had written. She knew that spreading word of her existence was a bad idea, but she wanted her mother to know she was at least alive and she didn't think calling her up would be the best solution. However, she wasn't sure as to how her mother would take the news that she wasn't exactly human anymore and didn't really want her mother overreacting, especially seeing that she was another mission that, like their campaign against Saren and Sovereign, Shepard knew that her mother would classify as 'fucking insane'.

Hearing her door chime, she sighed and saved the message for later. Clearing her thoughts, she unlocked the door and called out, "Enter."

As the doors opened, she saw Garrus standing on the other side looking a little sheepish, "Garrus! What can I do for you?"

Garrus entered, looking nervous, "Shepard, can we talk?"

"Sure Garrus, what's the problem?"

He indicated the seating area away from the desk, "Could we sit down first? This might be a big one."

Shepard nodded and they moved to the lounge seating. Garrus took a deep breath and began, "Shepard, I want to know where you think this thing we have is going. I don't know about you, but I think that we know each other well enough that we can skip the whole 'awkward conversations in random restaurants' stage, but I don't want you to feel pressurised or anything. What do you think?"

Shepard looked a little awkward, "What's brought this on Garrus?"

"Mordin kind of mentioned that the way you lied to me to stop me worrying when we went into the plague zone indicated that you felt strongly about me. I know how I feel about you, but I wanted to see if he was right?"

"_Damn that Salarian. He's too observant at times!_ Here's the thing Garrus, I really do like you and would love to take this to the next stage, but don't you think it'd look odd to an outsider? I mean, you've only known _Prometheia_ for almost no time whatsoever. I'm not that versed in the subtleties of Turian relationships, but wouldn't us moving this quickly look a bit suspect?"

Garrus gave a little chuckle, finding her worries about perception slightly funny, "It would be seen as a bit unusual as it isn't the standard Turian way of doing things, but I'm not exactly a good Turian and you're..."

"Not exactly a Turian?" Shepard finished, raising an eyeplate.

"That's not really what I meant, but you've got to admit, however you look at it, you're not exactly a normal Turian. Even your back-story is sufficiently twisted that nobody would even remotely classify you as a model Turian. Anyway, people would talk whatever we did, it would probably cause a bit of a scandal back home if someone from the Vakarian family was seen dating someone who was unpainted."

Shepard gave him a little smile, "I can see what you mean, and anyway, if they don't like it, I probably outrank them, so they'll have to shut up and fucking deal with it."

Garrus let out a short laugh, "That's definitely true. Hell, you definitely outrank me, even just on your citizenship tier – if I remember the system correctly, your military rank would immediately place you only 5 or 6 ranks below the Primarchs themselves!"

Shepard gave a bit of an evil smile, "Are you saying I can boss you around outside of the military, even in the bedroom?"

Garrus gave a grin of his own in return, "You could try, but I'm not exactly renowned for taking orders, so there may be a little," he raised an eyeplate suggestively, "_insubordination_ if you tried."

"_Careful, you're starting to turn me on!_ I might have to test you on that, with suitable _discipline_ if you step out of line."

"_You're getting turned on, what about me? I've got a fucking sexy commanding officer suggesting all sorts of things!_ Hmmm, I'd like to see you try – I won the last hand-to-hand bout we had."

Shepard faked a look of shocked outrage on her face, "Only because of your stamina! _Which is another thing we might be testing!_ But we'll have to wait until a bit later for our _experiments_."

Garrus looked mildly disappointed, "Why?"

Shepard smiled at the look on his face, "Well firstly, I've got a couple of things to sort out and I don't really want to have to explain to Galerius how certain datapads got damaged after the desk was used for an _alternative_ purpose. Secondly, you're going to be working quite hard for the next few hours and I don't want to wear you out beforehand."

Garrus looked confused, "What do you mean? Don't tell me you're planning on making me a victim of a powertrip and are about to order me to repaint the ceilings with a toothpick!"

"Me, abuse power? The very idea! No, I've got something you'll probably like a lot more planned. I know you've probably only just finished setting up in your own quarters, and I'm only a floor away, but I seem to have too much storage space for just one person and if you're going to be spending quite a bit of time here..." Shepard let the sentence trail of suggestively.

Garrus looked slightly puzzled, "You're asking me to move in with you?"

Shepard gave him a gentle slap on the back on the head, "Of course I am fucktard! Unless you'd rather have to keep sneaking up and down in the elevator in your underwear, hoping Joker doesn't spot you?"

A grin slowly spread across his face, "I'll start moving right away!"

Shepard laid a hand on his shoulder, "Not so fast – I've realised that you haven't been in the Turian military since you joined C-SEC. Seeing as this is a Turian military vessel and you're serving on it, it's probably quite an easy task for me to reactivate your profile. I could probably also use my rank to bump you up a couple of ranks for your help against Saren and the amount of responsibility you're taking on whilst on this ship. I know it's not the normal way the military do things, but let's just say you deserve it and you have enough influence with a certain admiral to get the whole process fast tracked. What do you say?"

Garrus gave a smile, "It doesn't really matter to me Shepard, although it does have a certain appeal. I could use it to distract my Dad next time we talk when he asks about where I've been for the last two years."

Shepard let out a bit of a chuckle at the idea, "It's settled then, although your new rank is still debatable. Let's look at your service record."

Shepard used her terminal to log into the Hierarchy servers. Typing a series of commands into the machine, she quickly brought up Garrus' military record. "Let's see, Garrus Vakarian. Entered Cipritine military academy shortly after 15th birthday. Showed excellent technical skills and prowess with long-range weaponry. Nicknamed 5k," she let out a laugh before turning to Garrus, "Your nickname was 5k? That just sounds ridiculous!"

Garrus rolled his eyes, "Like you didn't have an equally embarrassing one in Alliance boot camp."

Shepard turned back to the screen and continued, "Nicknamed 5k after hitting a shot at 5000m during a sharpshooter competition. Recommended for fast-track to Spectre training. Request denied by cadet's father. Assigned to 12th Tactical Division after graduation and advanced to Major before requesting transfer to C-SEC. Granted rank of Detective. No promotions granted due to aggressive attitude. Left to work under Spectre **–NAME REDACTED UNTIL CITADEL PROTOCOL SP-003–**. Work included **–RECORDS REDACTED UNTIL CITADEL PROTOCOL SP-017–**. Returned to Citadel after completion of primary mission and applied for Spectre training. Rejoined C-SEC, attitude improved, but rapidly degraded. Left under dubious circumstances. Current whereabouts are unknown."

She turned to Garrus, "Impressive, although I'm guessing your transfer to C-SEC wasn't entirely your idea?"

Garrus nodded, "My father didn't want me gaining too much authority – claimed I wasn't a good enough Turian to wield it. He all but ordered me to transfer."

Shepard gave him a reassuring smile, "Well in that case I don't know if he'll be overly impressed by what I'm about to do."

"He'll be impressed, but I don't think he'll like it. However, he disapproves of most of the stuff I do, so who gives a fuck."

"Well in that case I think I'll make you a Colonel to really piss him off."

As Shepard turned back to her terminal to complete the paperwork that would reactivate Garrus' military status and grant him his new rank he went and stood behind her and gave her a hug. "Thanks for doing this Shepard, he ruined my chances first time around but I doubt he can do anything about it now. In any case, I can't wait until he meets you – not only will your Spectre status piss him off, you'll be the first person I've ever brought home who outranks him."

"Hmmmm, does that mean he'll have to approve of our relationship."

"Don't count on it – the last person I brought home ran out screaming after being grilled by him and he's less protective of me than my sister! She'd like you by the way, adapts well to situations although occasionally feels restricted by the rules."

Shepard sweetly smiled, "You saying I don't always play by the rulebook?"

Garrus gave a laugh before responding, "I think we'd both agree that most of your decisions indicate that you don't even own a copy of the rulebook. If you do, I doubt you've ever opened it. I guess that's the fun of being a Spectre."

* * *

Several hours later, after Garrus had finished moving the last of his boxes into Shepard's room, they headed down to the mess hall to grab dinner.

As they rode the elevator down, Shepard leaned into Garrus and whispered, "How about we take dinner up to _our_ cabin? There's a few things I've got planned and I'd love to see how _bad_a Turian you are and how much insubordination I'll receive before you give in and follow orders."

Garrus whispered back to her, "Oh don't worry, it's only bad orders that I don't follow. If I think they're sensible, I'll carry them out, you can count on that."

Arriving in the mess hall, Garrus waited whilst Shepard headed to the kitchen to get their meals. As he waited, he spotted Mordin who, noticing that he had arrived with Shepard and looked as though they would be leaving the mess together, he slightly raised an eyebrow at Garrus as if to say '_I told you so!_'

Joker, noticing the gesture, gave a confused look at both of them. Thankfully, before Joker could ask, Shepard returned with two plates of steaming food and Garrus followed her into the elevator to head back up to their cabin.

As Shepard sat down, she rested her feet on the edge of the table and tried to think what orders she should give Garrus that would be amusing for both of them, whether Garrus chose to obey them or not. Deciding that Garrus was likely to both follow it and it would be a bit of a turn-on for both of them. Giving Garrus her evil grin, she pointed a finger towards him, "Strip!"

Garrus raised an eyeplate, "What?"

"You heard me. Clothes, get 'em off."

Garrus gave a little sigh, before having a thought and returning her evil smile, "After you, _Commodore_."

Shepard gave him a confused look.

Garrus continued, "I always think commanding officers should lead by example so, as I said, _after you_."

Shepard gave a little snort, and gave Garrus a grin. Realising that the definitely did not want to be disturbed after they had started, so she ordered AMI to lock her cabin door, prevent the elevator ascending to her floor and to disable surveillance. Having done so, she proceeded to quickly shed her clothing then sat back down in exactly the same position as she had originally. Smiling sweetly, she turned to Garrus before twitching her eyeplates suggestively, "Your turn."

Garrus returned her look before rapidly following her act. Giving a cocky grin, he sat back down. "No problem."

Returning to her meal, Shepard started thinking of the next order she could give Garrus. Trailing her talon through the chocolate mousse served with her meal, she had an exceptionally evil thought. Scooping up a little with the tip of her finger, she glanced at Garrus before flicking the small drop in his direction. This caused him to glance up from his meal momentarily. As he returned to his meal, she scooped up a larger lump before flicking it in his direction.

"Shepard. Stop playing with your food!"

She gave him a look of complete innocence, "What?"

"Stop flicking food at me."

"What do you mean? It wasn't me, I don't know _where_ it came from."

Garrus made an unconvinced sound, "Really?"

As he saw Shepard return to his food, he decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. He scooped up a large amount of his dessert before hurling it at Shepard's head. When she looked up at him, he recreated her look of innocence, before copying here comment, "What?"

Shepard gave him a look, before throwing another handful of food directly into his face.

Mocking a look of anger, he scooped up another handful of his food, "Oh that's it Shepard, you're dead!"

Shepard raised an eyeplate before shovelling up a lump of her own food, "Choice of words Garrus?"

"Oh right, sorry!"

Shepard launched the handful of food across the table with a laugh, "Don't worry about it."

Several minutes later, they realised two things. Firstly, food fights were very childish, and secondly, they were both covered in dextro chocolate and they'd forgotten to pick up spoons when they left the mess.

Leaning back on the sofa, Shepard ran the tip of her claw through the chocolate coating her face. Looking at Garrus, she slowly and seductively licked it off. Garrus, picking up on her intentions, shifted so he was seated next to her. Lifting it by her hand, he slowly ran his tongue us her arm, staring lovingly into her eyes the entire time. Giggling slightly due to the feeling of Garrus' rough tongue over her plates, she leant forward and started to lick the chocolate off his fringe. Growling with pleasure, he started to lick her neck causing her to voice her pleasure as well. Without warning, she suddenly pushed him back against the sofa. Worrying that he had done something wrong, Garrus looked Shepard in the eye with confusion, only for her to meet his eyes with a look of reassurance. As she slowly ran her tongue down his torso, Garrus felt his plates begin to loosen as the sensations caused by Shepard's tongue increased his arousal.

Grinning slightly at the sight of his male-hood and the power she held over him at that moment, she grabbed him by the hand and lead the way into their en-suite bathroom. Turning on the shower, she pulled him under the rapidly heating water before shoving him backwards into the wall. Considering that they were still both covered in a considerable amount of chocolate mousse, Shepard passed Garrus her dextro soap. Garrus glanced down at the soap, before smiling and looking up at Shepard, "Even as a Turian, you still manage to get hold of the expensive stuff. You're worth it though!"

As he started to squirt the soap onto his hand, Shepard flicked some water at him, and replied with a cheeky grin, "Glad you think so. One of the benefits of being with Vindex; the extra costs of the fancy stuff is nothing compared to the amount they're pouring into this project."

Garrus passed the soap to Shepard as he began running his soapy hands over Shepard's body, cleaning the chocolate off her form. Shepard started doing the same for him. As her hands slipped lower, Garrus' arousal increased to the point where he could barely control himself anymore. Letting his own hands drop down Shepard's body, he felt that Shepard's plates had moved, indicating her own excitement. As he ran a finger over her exposed opening, Shepard groaned loudly and let her head collapse onto Garrus' shoulder. Pleased by her reaction, Garrus kept up his motions until, overwhelmed by the feelings coursing through her body, she grabbed Garrus' hand and slammed him back against the wall. Staring directly into his eyes and her voice dripping with lust, she screamed, "Fuck me, Garrus!"

Lining himself up with her entrance, he gave a cheeky smirk, "Is that an order, _Commodore_?"

Overwhelmed by desire, her brain refused to give her a smart comeback, so she just wrapped her arms over his shoulders. "I don't care, _Colonel_, just fucking do it!"

Giving a mock salute, he let out a quick 'Yes, Ma'am' before grabbing Shepard around the waist and thrusting forward into her. Groaning with pleasure, they sank to the floor, Garrus continuing to plunge deeply into her. As a result of the extended build up neither of the two lasted long, quickly succumbing to the feelings running through their bodies and hitting a joint climax. Lying in the afterglow, they let the water raining down wash over their bodies, cooling their limbs as well as washing the remnants of the chocolate mousse down the drain.

After some time of just relaxing together in the water, Garrus felt himself begin to harden once more. Grabbing Shepard and letting her wrap her legs around his waist, he stood up and, turning off the shower, carried her into their bedroom. Throwing her down on the bed, he climbed on top of her and started nuzzling her neck. Staring lovingly into her eyes, he slowly pushed himself into her, causing her to arch her back into the bed, moaning in pleasure.

As Garrus continued to slowly make love to Shepard, she suddenly grabbed him, flipping him over and forcing his hand above his head. Looking down into his eyes, she gave a slightly evil grin as she realised the amount of power she now held over him. Rolling her hips in time with his consistent thrusting, she slowly ran the tip of a talon around the edge of the plates on his face, stimulating the skin underneath. Leaning down, she followed the motion with the tip of her tongue, increasing the stimulation further. As she moved closer to him, Garrus started nipping on the exposed skin on her throat. Raising an eyeplate as, although she had been given extensive training, she didn't recognise it as a common Turian gesture. However, based on the feelings that Garrus' actions were causing, she decided to reciprocate the action, which caused him to growl with pleasure and thrust harder, bringing her closer to the edge of her own climax as he approached his second of the evening.

As they plunged off the metaphorical cliff together for the second time that evening, Shepard couldn't help herself and screamed Garrus' name towards the ceiling as he exploded inside her and she exploded around him, before collapsing onto his chest. Turning her head to the side, she gazed into her eyes as he stroked her fringe as they settled under the sheets feeling their bodies revel in the aftermath of their earlier actions.

* * *

The next morning, Shepard awoke and rolled over to see Garrus sleepily looking back at her. Realising that although he had stayed over on previous nights, this would be the first morning where he wouldn't have to embarrassingly walk through the CIC in the same clothes he had been wearing the previous night, she lifted an arm and stroked his check. She gave him a brief smile, "Morning sweetie!"

Garrus smiled back at her, "Morning. I'm guessing you're not going to be able to stay in bed all day?"

Shepard snuggled up to him, "Unfortunately not. I've got to pop back onto Omega to pick up some mercenary that Vindex has contacted."

Garrus gave her a harsh look, "A mercenary? What are you thinking Shepard?"

Shepard gave a shrug, "I'm not happy about it, but supposedly he's too fucking good to turn down. His name is Zaeed something. Zaeed Marani? Zaeed Passani? Something like that."

Garrus raised an eyeplate, "Zaeed Massani? _The_ Zaeed Massani. He's pretty damn good, and coming from me, that means something."

Shepard continued, "I've also got to pick up some supplies and I have a feeling that I owe Aria a small favour. We've got time for a quick lunch after that if you want to join me. After that we're heading to the Citadel, with a few quick stops along the way – we're picking up a powerful biotic from a Blue Suns prison facility and we've had contact from an unusual source. Cerberus, that human supremacy group we encountered whilst chasing Saren, are apparently also opposing the Collectors and are asking for a meeting to discuss the possibility of an alliance. Vindex have asked me to listen to what they have to say, but I'm not convinced."

Garrus looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding, "I'm up for lunch, but I hope you've got a plan so that you don't get quite so many stares from admirers – if they get too aggressive, I may have to take action, and that won't end well. I agree with you about Cerberus though. They were involved in some fucked up shit when we last confronted them. Didn't you also mention that they were one of the parties that Vindex had to fight off when they ah, _acquired_, you?"

Shepard nodded, "I don't trust them, but I follow the idiom of _the enemy of your enemy is your friend_. There's also the fact that nobody actually know that I am actually Shepard, and I don't plan on telling them."

Garrus chuckled, "Smart move!"

Shepard smiled, climbing out of bed and heading up the steps towards her shower, "My moves are always smart. Now, I've got to go have a shower. If you think you can control yourself, feel free to join me."

Garrus smiled back as he followed her, "I can control myself if you can."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, as they lay next to each other on the floor of the bathroom, chests heaving and bodies covered in sweat, they realised that their belief in their own self-control was misplaced. Realising how little time she had before she was due to head back onto Omega, she quickly stood and turned on the shower. Seeing that Garrus was still lying on the floor, she rested a foot on his chest grinning down at him as she quickly finished washing her body before heading out into the bedroom, leaving Garrus still panting on the floor.

Just as she was finishing getting dressed, Garrus walked out of the bathroom. Noticing that Shepard was wearing the Turian equivalent of hoodie and jeans rather than her usual armour, Garrus looked at her, worried, "No armour on Omega, are you nuts?"

Shepard looked back her him and smiled reassuringly, "I'm not doing anything dangerous Garrus, I'l be fine."

Garrus shook his head, "It's Omega Shepard, it's always dangerous."

Shepard waved her hand dismissively, "You worry too much Garrus, I'm wearing my underarmour and even if I wasn't, I doubt anyone would attack someone Aria has taken an interest in."

Garrus shrugged, "Fair enough."

"Good, now I should be finished in three or four hours, so why don't we meet at the café in the upper marketplace then for lunch?"

"Sure thing Shepard."

* * *

Several hours later, Garrus sat at a table overlooking the marketplace, glad of the anonymity that his civilian clothing provided. Drumming the tips of his talons on the table, he hummed under his breath as he gazed off into the distance worrying about Shepard. The sound of several large boxes being dropped next to the table brought him out of his trance. Snapping his head around, he saw Shepard grinning back at him as she sat down.

"You should have seen the look on your face – you looked scared shitless when I dropped those packages."

Due to his worry, Garrus quickly looked Shepard over to make sure that she wasn't injured. Although he couldn't see any signs, he did spot a splatter of orange blood on her sleeve.

"Krogan blood Promethiea? What have you been up to?"

Shepard sighed, "Nothing gets past you does it? Aria needed a pair of fucktards who had been threatening Patriarch sorted out. Idiots didn't see me coming, didn't even have their helmets on or their shields up. Double-tap between their eyes, they didn't even get close."

Garrus shook his head, "Only you would be mad enough to fight Krogan without armour."

Shepard smiled, "I didn't do it to worry you, but it _is_ more fun that way."

Garrus snorted at Shepard's attitude before attracting the attention of the server and ordering meals for him and Shepard.

When Garrus had finished ordering, Shepard looked at him curiously, "Garrus, you know I'm not that up on Turian customs?"

Garrus nodded, "For obvious reasons."

Shepard continued, "I just wondered what a certain gesture you did last night meant."

Garrus raised an eyeplate, "Which one?"

Shepard looked a little embarrassed, "Well, at some point, you started nipping on my neck and I joined in. It wasn't covered in my briefings on Turian customs and I wasn't really sure what it meant."

Garrus looked a little awkward, "I'm guessing you know that Turian relationships have more stages than other species. With Turians the last few, which cumulate with becoming full bondmates, involve a bonding ceremony, joining one of the partners' clans and marking each other. The nipping is a precursor to the third."

Shepard raised an eyeplate and stared at Garrus, "Are you trying to tell me you pretty much proposed to me Garrus?"

Garrus gave a quick laugh, "It's not as simple as that. The three stages reflect different aspects of Turian culture. The bonding reflects the choice of the individuals, the clan ceremony reflects the choice of society and the family and the marking reflects the choice of the partners' spirits. The third commitment is very much a subconscious decision and is probably the most important of the three."

Shepard gave a brief smile, "So you're saying you almost subconsciously proposed to me?"

Garrus scratched his neck and tilted his head to the side, looking down at the floor, "Kinda. You're not mad are you?"

Shepard chuckled and shrugged, "If it's subconscious I can hardly blame you."

"You're really not angry that I pretty much asked you to marry me?"

"Nah, I might crack it out occasionally when I what to make fun of you, but I actually find it kinda cute."

Garrus raised an eyeplate, "Are you saying that if I proposed to you, you wouldn't mind?"

Shepard gave a little laugh before looking down at the table, "If it was deliberate I'd probably think it was _way_ too quick, but to be honest, I'm still surprised that you're attracted to me. I am basically a freak of science."

Garrus took her hands and when she lifted her head, looked into her eyes and smiled, "Prometheia, you could look like Sovereign and I'd still be attracted to you. That's kinda the point of the third commitment, it's about how well our spirits match rather than anything physical. Even if it wasn't, I'm your best friend, I'm the one person who would never judge you."

Shepard smiled back at him, "That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me Garrus."

"That's what boyfriends are for."

Shepard leant forward and nuzzled Garrus' neck, "I love you Garrus."

"I love you too."

* * *

**A/N: Apologies for the massive delay in this chapter– I've been hearing back from Graduate schools and I'm having to dash all over the country for interviews. I hope you understand.**

**Also, just to clarify, Shepard (currently) holds the rank of Commodore in the Turian Navy, which is the lowest of the Admiral ranks, so can technically call herself an Admiral. Garrus previous held (and now has been reawarded) a position in the Marines. By the time this story reaches the events of ME3, he will have reached the rank of Major-General (or above) so that he outranks General ****Corinthus (who will hold the rank of Brigadier-General in the Turian Army). Shepard is also likely to get a few promotions thrown her way, ensuring that it makes sense why she can be a representative in a meeting with senior figures from Tuchanka and Sur'Kesh. However, this isn't a subtle way to turn her (or Garrus) into the next Primarch – I don't intend for the story to go there and being honest, still haven't decided whether they'll survive London, or even if I'm going to stick with the canon storyline until then.**


End file.
